Growth, Yield and Water Use Efficiency of Wheat with Different Irrigation Schedules under Shallow Water Table Conditions

A field experiment on wheat crop was conducted at the research farm of CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar having shallow water table (<2 m). The experiment was laid out in split plot design with four irrigation schedules; i) irrigations at 30 and 105 days after sowing, ii) irrigations at 30 and 85 days after sowing, iii) irrigation at 45 and 85 days after sowing, and iv) irrigation at 45 and 105 days after sowing. Six wheat varieties (PBW 343, UP 2338, Raj 3765, HD 2428, NIAW 34 and WH 711) were grown in sub-plots. Plant growth parameters as plant height, dry matter accumulation, CGR, LAI and LAD were significantly higher with two irrigations at 30 and 85 DAS (I₂). Yield attributes like grain yield per plant, biomass yield per plant, number of effective tillers, number of grains per spike, earhead length and 1000-grain weight were significantly higher when two irrigations were given at 30 and 85 DAS (I₂). The grain yield and biological yield were significantly higher when irrigations applied at 30 and 105 (I₁) and 30 and 85 DAS (I₂), respectively. Differences for plant growth among different wheat varieties were not consistent, however, variety PBW 343 followed by NIAW 34 had significantly higher grain and biomass yield than other varieties.