Physiological studies on nutrition of dwarf wheats VII. Partial efficiency of nitrogen absorbed at different growth stages of wheat in relation to grain yield

Partial efficiency (PE) of N in improving the yield and yield components of Sonalika wheat variety was evaluated. Although N applied in divided instalments was more efficient than the entire dose given only at seeding, best PE was observed when 2/3 or 3/4 of the N was supplied at sowing and the remainder top-dressed at flag leaf stage. N accumulated upto late tillering stage was positively related with number of ears/plant, size of the ear, grain number/ear and grain yield/plant. Nitrogen absorbed between late-jointing and milk stages showed significantly positive association with almost all the yield ancillary characters and the grain yield. A critical appraisal of PE of N at various growth stages of wheat suggested that supply of more than half of the requisite quantity of N at the time of sowing supplemented with the remaining amount just before heading will be most appropriate and rational practice of N manuring for obtaining best results in this crop.