Growth and Productivity of Wheat (Triticum aestivum) Varieties Under Different Poplar (Populus deltoides Bartr.) Clones in Tarai Region of Uttarakhand

Field experiments were carried out at Agroforestry Research Ceneter, of G.B.P.U.A. & T., Pantnagar, Uttarakhand (29°N Latitude, 79° 30 ’E longitude and at an altitude of 243.84 masl) during rabi seasons of 2013–14 and 2014–15 to study the performance of diverse varieties of wheat under different types of poplar clones. The field comprised sandy loam soil with 1.17% of organic carbon, 259, 20 and 195 kg ha⁻¹ available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, respectively. The experiment was designed in split plot with four poplar tree clones viz., S₇ C₈, G-48, W-39 and Kranti in main plots and wheat varieties viz., DBW-17, PBW-502, UP-2748 and HD-2967 in sub-plots. Poplar clones were planted in the year 2012 at spacing of 7.0 m x 3.0 m, having total 476 trees ha⁻¹. Different poplar clones (age 2 and 3 years) did not affect significantly the growth (tiller m⁻² and plant dry matter m⁻²), yield attributes (spikes m⁻², grain weight/spike, grain number/spike and 1000 grain weight) and productivity of wheat. However, under clone Kranti and S₇ C₈, higher values of these parameters were recorded. Wheat varieties HD-2967 and DBW-17 out yielded varieties UP-2748 and PBW-502 for grain yield, straw yield and biological yield. Variety PBW-502 was the lowest yielder during both the years. Variety HD-2967 recorded higher values of grain weight/spike and grain number/spike. The number of spikes (productive tillers m⁻²) was the maximum with variety DBW-17 in 2013–14 (443 m⁻²) and HD-2967 (404 m⁻²) in 2014–15. Variety UP-2748 recorded the lowest number of spikes m_-2 during the years, but higher grain weight/spike than other varieties except HD-2967 in 2014–15.