Boosting Wheat Performance and Soil Fertility: Role of Advanced Planting System and Precision Nitrogen Management in Indo -Gangetic Plains

Abstract

               A field experiment was conducted during Rabi 2024-25 and 2025-26 at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, F.S. University, Shikohabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, to evaluate the impact of advanced planting systems and precision nitrogen management on growth, physiological traits, and yield attributes of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The study was laid out in a split-plot design with three replications. Five tillage and crop establishment methods (TCEM) – Zero Tillage Wheat (ZTW), Conventional Tillage Wheat (CTW), Reduced Tillage (RT), Reduced Tillage with residue retention (RTW), and Furrow Irrigated Raised Bed (FIRB) – were assigned to main plots. Five precision nitrogen management (PNM) practices – Control, Recommended Dose of Fertilizer (RDF), SPAD-based, Leaf Color Chart (LCC)-based, and Targeted Yield (TY) approach – were assigned to sub-plots. Wheat variety DBW-17 was used. Growth analysis revealed that planting method and N management significantly influenced dry matter accumulation (DMA), leaf area index (LAI), crop growth rate (CGR), and net assimilation rate (NAR) in both years. Among TCEM, FIRB recorded the highest DMA at harvest of 1173.7 and 1174.5 g m⁻², maximum LAI at 90 DAS of 4.63 and 4.66, highest CGR at 90 DAS of 21.77 and 21.80 g m⁻² day⁻¹, and superior yield attributes including spike length of 10.6 and 11.4 cm, spikelets spike⁻¹ of 21.3 and 22.1, grains spike⁻¹ of 54.2 and 55.0, and test weight of 42.8 and 43.6 g during 2024-25 and 2025-26, respectively.  ZTW was statistically at par with FIRB for most parameters. RTW consistently recorded the lowest values for all growth and yield attributes. Among PNM treatments, the Targeted Yield approach produced the maximum DMA at harvest of 1167.6 and 1168.4 g m⁻², LAI at 90 DAS of 4.87 and 4.90, CGR at 90 DAS of 21.82 and 21.85 g m⁻² day⁻¹, spike length of 9.9 and 10.7 cm, spikelets spike⁻¹ of 19.6 and 20.4, grains spike⁻¹ of 47.8 and 48.6, and test weight of 42.1 and 42.9 g in the two years. SPAD-based N management was the next best, while the control treatment recorded the lowest values for all parameters. Interaction effects between TCEM and PNM were non-significant for LAI and CGR. The study concludes that integration of FIRB or ZTW with Targeted Yield-based precision nitrogen management significantly enhances wheat growth, physiological efficiency, and yield attributes by improving dry matter accumulation, canopy development, and assimilation rates. Adoption of these resource-conserving practices offers a sustainable pathway for improving wheat productivity and nitrogen use efficiency in the Indo-Gangetic Plains.