Abstract

Field experiments were conducted during two consecutive rabi seasons of 2012–13 and 2013–14 at Norman E. Borlaug Crop Research Centre, GBPUA & T Pantnagar, Uttarakhand to improve the late sown wheat productivity, profitability and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) through crop establishment methods, irrigation levels and chemical sprays. The experiment comprising two crop establishment methods (dry bed and wet bed), two irrigation levels (irrigation till flowering and irrigation till grain filling) and four foliar sprays [control (water spray), urea @ 2%, cytokinin @ 25 ppm and KNO3 @ 1%] was set in a factorial randomized block design with three replications. The wheat grain yield and its yield attributes did not improve significantly due to crop establishment methods and irrigation levels. Foliar feeding of urea @ 2% at anthesis stage produced the maximum number of ears, grain weight/ear and 1000-grain weight. It also recorded significantly higher mean grain yield than control (water spray) by a margin of 13.9%. Besides, it also registered the maximum irrigation WUE. In terms of monetary advantage, foliar feeding of urea @ 2% and KNO3 @1% treatments fetched the maximum net returns (Rs. 33,809) and B: C ratio (1.29), respectively.