Irrigation and Nitrogen Schedule for Enhancing Nutrient Uptake, Grain Nutritional Quality and Protein Content of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under Semi-arid Conditions

Summary

This field experiment in semi-arid Rajasthan evaluated how irrigation regime and nitrogen scheduling practices interact to influence nutrient uptake and grain nutritional quality in wheat. Five irrigations combined with three equal nitrogen splits (at basal, crown root initiation and jointing) yielded the highest grain nitrogen (1.693%), phosphorus (0.369%), potassium (0.485%) contents and grain protein content (10.58%), demonstrating that synchronising water and nitrogen supply to critical growth stages can substantially improve both nutrient use efficiency and grain nutritional quality.

Regional applicability

Findings are directly applicable to semi-arid rainfed regions of India. For United Kingdom conditions, the specific irrigation and nitrogen timing recommendations would require adaptation owing to differences in climate, soil types, growing season length and water availability; however, the principle of synchronising nitrogen application with crop growth stages for protein and nutrient optimisation has broader relevance to temperate cereal production.

Key measures

Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content (%) and uptake (kg ha⁻¹) in grain and straw; grain protein content (%); split-plot design with irrigation regimes (3, 4, 5 irrigations) and nitrogen scheduling treatments (2-way split applications)

Outcomes reported

The study measured nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content and uptake in grain and straw, and grain protein content in wheat under different irrigation regimes and nitrogen scheduling practices. Results showed that five irrigations combined with three-split nitrogen application significantly enhanced nutrient concentration and grain protein content.

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