*Present address: Deputy Director General (education), Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi-110001.
Summary A field experiment was conducted during winter seasons of 1977–78 and 1978–79 at Agronomy Research Area, Haryana Agricultural University, Hissar, to study the effect of two irrigation levels (irrigation applied at 50 and 65% available soil moisture depletion) and three flag leaf defoliation treatments (defoliation at ear emergence stage, at anthesis stage and control where no defoliation was done) on the dry matter accumulation in wheat ear. The varieties used in this experiment were WH 157, HD 2009 and UP 270.
Variety UP 270 produced the highest dry weight per ear during both the years of study followed by variety HD 2009 and WH 157- Irrigation at 65% ASM depletion decreased the dry matter accumulation in the ear significantly. Flag leaf defoliation prior to 24 days after anthesis does not reduce dry matter accumulation in the ear. Afterwards flag leaf defoliation significantly reduced the ear weight, earlier defoliation at ear emergence stage causing greater reduction. Final weights of the ear were in decending order, control plants > plants with flag leaf removed at anthesis stage > plants with flag leaf removed at the ear emergence stage.
