Nitrogen and residue management effects on productivity and profitability of happy seeder wheat in Indian Punjab

Development of a suitable nitrogen (N) management strategy in wheat sown under residue retained conditions will go a long way in maintaining its sustainability. The reason for this is the variable concentration of N in rice residues and complexity of crop N demand. The present experiment was conducted at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana during rabi2016–17 and 2017–18 to study the infuence of different residue and nitrogen management practices on productivity and proftability of Happy Seeder sown wheat. Experiment was conducted in randomized block design (RBD) consisting of eleven residue and N management treatments in four replications. The results revealed that yield attributes and grain yield of Happy Seeder sown wheat varied signifcantly with different residue and N management practices. Yield attributes (effective tillers, spike length & number of grains/spike) and grain yield (54.2 & 53.6 q/ha) were maximum in treatment where 150 kg N (30 kg at chopping of straw and 120 kg as per recommendation) was applied along with 5 t farmyard manure (FYM)/ha, which was signifcantly better than NC + N₁₂₅, C + N₁₂₅, C + FYM₅ + N₁₂₅ and C + N₂₀₊₁₀₅ treatments but statistically at par with rest of the treatments. Highest gross (Rs. 1, 18, 155 & 1, 28, 011/ha) and net (Rs. 85, 120 & 94, 466/ha) returns were obtained with C + FYM₅ + N₃₀₊₁₂₀ during 2016–17 and 2017–18, respectively. But highest beneft cost ratio (2.59 & 2.87) was reported in treatment C + FYM₅ + N₃₀₊₉₅ during both years. It may be concluded that application of 20/30 kg N/ha at the time of chopping of straw improved grain yield of Happy Seeder wheat as compared to recommended schedule of N application.