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Abstract
A field experiment was conducted during the winter seasons between 2004 and 2006 to assess the role of balanced fertilization and bioregulators (foliar-applied brassinosteroid 0.5 mg I−1, thiourea 1000 mg I−1 and kinetin 10 mg I−1) in enhancing the productivity of wheat. Conjoint application of NPKSZn (120 kg N, 40 kg P2O5, 30 kg K2O, 40 kg S, 5.5 kg Zn ha−1) recorded maximum improvements in yield attributes and significantly out-yielded all the fertilization treatments with 14.90, 4.97 and 6.39% increments in grain yield compared with NPK, NPKS and NPKZn treatments, respectively. Nutrient (N, P, K, S, Zn) content and uptake were also improved significantly with balanced fertilization. Among the bioregulators, application of 0.50 mg I−1 brassinosteroid recorded maximum increments in grain yield (14.10%), followed by 10 mg I−1 kinetin (12.31%) and 1000 mg I−1 thiourea (9.92%), over control (4.99 t ha−1). Bioregulators significantly enhanced the uptake of nutrients (N, P, K, S, Zn) over control. NPKSZn treatment also gave the maximum net return (Rs. 51,209 ha−1). Among the bioregulators, brassinosteroid provided the maximum net return (Rs. 47,292 ha−1) and benefit:cost (B:C) ratio (3.37) followed by thiourea (Rs. 45,500 ha−1 and 3.35). Kinetin also provided yield advantage, however, it gave a significantly reduced B:C ratio compared with control.