Effect of seed priming and plant geometry on yield and economics of wheat in modified system of wheat intensification under sub-tropical conditions of Jammu

A field experiment was conducted during the Rabi seasons of 2018–19 at the Research Farm, Division of Agronomy, SKUAST-Jammu to evaluate the effect of seed priming and plant geometry on yield and economics of wheat crop in modified system of wheat intensification under sub-tropical conditions of Jammu. The treatments comprised of different combinations of primed and un-primed wheat seed sown at 4 different plant geometries viz. 20 cm x 5 cm, 20 cm x 10 cm, 20 cm x 15 cm and 20 cm x 20 cm along with conventional sown wheat. The primed seed sown at plant geometry of 20 cm x 5 cm recoded significantly higher grain yield and straw yield which was statistically at par with the primed wheat seed sown at plant geometry of 20 cm x 10 cm and conventional sowing of primed seed. The grain yield of wheat was significantly higher with primed seeds as compared with un-primed seed. Further, conventional sowing of primed seed recorded highest net returns and B:C ratio which was closely followed by conventional unprimed sowing. However, with respect to grain yield, the primed sown at plant geometry of 20 cm x 5 cm registered highest of23.87% increment in grain yield over conventional sowing of wheat crop.