A field experiment was conducted to study the response of wheat to N, P, K, S and Zn nutrients (varying combinations) along with foliar application of bio-regulators (brassinosteroid 0.5 ppm, thiourea 1000 ppm and kinetin 10 ppm) during two consecutive years. Crop under NPKSZn fertilization attained maximum growth, chlorophyll content and dry matter accumulation in plant parts. It resulted in significantly improved productivity over other treatments including NPKS and NPKZn, which were also found superior over sole application of N, NP and NPK. Application of bio-regulators significantly improved growth parameters viz., plant height, dry matter accumulation, CGR, RGR and chlorophyll content as well as grain yield over control. Among the bio-regulators, brassinosteroid (0.5 ppm) recorded maximum improvement in all these parameters followed by kinetin (10 ppm). Harvest index improved significantly as a result of bio-regulator application over control.
Bio-regulators, dry matter partitioning, fertilization, growth efficiency, wheat, yield
