Potential Role of Wheat Varieties in Semi-arid Areas of India with Diverse Mulch Materials

Author: Mehak Nagora, Shweta, Meena Sewhag, Kautilya Chaudhary, Lalit Kumar, Shital Kumar and Anjeeta

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Abstract

Due to restricted area, increase in crop productivity is the sole choice to fulfil the demand of burgeoning population. In arid and semi-arid regions, wheat yields are considerably constrained by the inadequate water and nutrients supply. Additionally, the regions that are self-sufficient in water and nutrients often have low nutrient and water use efficiency because of inadequate management, resulting in substantial losses in wheat grain output. Increased moisture shortage during the wheat growing season leads to detrimental effect on the plant's growth and development. Suitability of cultivars to a specific agro-climate is critical for maximising their yield potential, as plant production efficiency is governed by genotype-environment (G × E) interaction. The environmental conditions that prevail over a particular agro-climatic zone are immutable. However, a crop's agronomic methods can be modified to take maximum advantage of environmental elements and to best suit the crop's developmental stages. One of the most effective agronomic practises for water-scarce areas is the use of crop residues as a soil cover (mulch) in conservation agriculture (CA). Hence, field experiment was undertaken during Rabi, 2019-20 at research farm of CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana. The layout of experiment was RBD with six wheat varieties (V1-WH 1142, V2-WH 1105, V3-HD 2967, V4-WH 1184, V5-HD 3086 and V6- WH 1124) and three mulch treatments (M1- No mulch, M2- Rice straw mulch @ 6 t/ha and M3- Plastic mulch) having three replications. Utilization of mulch improved the growth parameters in terms of dry matter accumulation and LAI except plant population. Highest dry matter accumulation and LAI recorded in WH 1142. Crop under (M2) rice straw mulch reported more soil moisture content and available soil nutrients than (M3) plastic mulch and (M1) no mulch. Sowing of wheat under (M2) rice straw mulch resulting in 29.75 percent higher grain yield than (M1) no mulch. Variations were significant in terms of yield attributes in varieties. Highest grain yield and biological yield were obtained from WH 1142.

Keywords

Dry matter accumulation, growth parameters, soil moisture content and yield attributes

Conclusion

Utilization of mulch significantly improved the growth parameters in terms of, dry matter accumulation and LAI except plant population. Among wheat varieties, highest dry matter accumulation and LAI were registered in WH 1142. Crop sown under (M2) rice straw mulch reported more soil moisture content, available soil nutrients than (M3) plastic mulch and (M1) no mulch. Sowing of wheat under (M2) rice straw mulch resulted in significantly higher yield attributes resulting in 29.75 per cent higher grain yield than (M1) no mulch. Among wheat varieties, there was significant variation in terms of yield attributes because of varietal characteristics. Highest grain yield (5466 kg/ha) and biological yield (15318 kg/ha) were obtained from WH 1142. Overall, it can be concluded from the study that growing variety WH 1142 with rice straw mulch @ 6 t ha-1 could help in improving productivity of wheat crop in an economic manner.

References

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How to cite this article

Mehak Nagora, Shweta, Meena Sewhag, Kautilya Chaudhary, Lalit Kumar, Shital Kumar and Anjeeta (2023). Potential Role of Wheat Varieties in Semi-arid Areas of India with Diverse Mulch Materials. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(4): 293-300.