Integrated Irrigation and Nitrogen Management Strategies for Sustainable Wheat Production

Abstract

Introduction: Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the major food grain crops and is a critical food security crop. Increasing the productivity of wheat is essential and will require efficient irrigation and nitrogen management, especially under water limited conditions in semi-arid areas where the use efficiency is low. Objectives: To evaluate the influence of different irrigation levels and nitrogen scheduling on nitrogen uptake and utilization of wheat. Methods: The field experiment was done at Vivekananda Global University, Jaipur, Rajasthan during Rabi season of 2024–25. The experiment was designed using Split Plot Design and three replications. The three irrigation levels (3, 4 and 5 irrigations) and three nitrogen scheduling treatments were tested. Results/Conclusion: Wheat performance was highly affected by irrigation levels as well as nitrogen scheduling. The highest grain yield (4461 kg ha⁻¹), nitrogen uptake, net return (₹91,863 ha⁻¹) and B ratio (3.13) resulted from five irrigations (I₃). In a similar way, three equal splits (N₃: 33.33%, at sowing, CRI, and jointing) had the maximum grain yield (4476 kg ha⁻¹), N uptake, net returns (₹92,824 ha⁻¹), and B ratio (3.25). The study has shown that the five irrigation treatments with three nitrogen split treatments is an effective strategy to improve productivity, nutrient utilization and profitability of wheat under semi-arid conditions.