Varietal Response of Wheat to Different Levels of Nitrogen in Agri- Horticulture System Under Rainfed Hill Farming System

Abstract

Growth and yield response of four wheat varieties with three nitrogen levels in 12 years old peach based agri-horticulture system was studied. Plant growth attributes viz. germination per cent, number of plants m^-2 and number of tillers plant^-1 were not influenced significantly albeit, plant height increased significantly with the 25 % increase in N level (N₃ Varietal effects were significant. The yield attributes viz. number of spikes per plant, thousand grain weight, straw and grain yield as well as harvest index were influenced significantly by N -levels. The direction of crop sowing also had significant effect on yield attributes. Grain yield was higher in south direction over north. Grain yield in Agri-horti system compared to sole crop system was 18.45 per cent less with recommended level of N₂. Increase in N by 25 % over recommended level (N₂) improved the yield by 3.35 % in AH system. Reduction in N level by 25 % over recommended level, decreased the yield in AH system by 25.27 per cent, whereas, in sole crop just by 4.70%. Variety V₃ (HD-2380) produced maximum grain yield (22.17 q ha^-1) in AH and (26.00 q ha^-1) in sole crop system. Net returns from AH system were higher (Rs. 43424.14) compared to sole crop (Rs. 26876.73) at N₃V_3 combination. Hence, in Peach based agri-horticulture system, use of variety HD-2380 with 100 kg N ha^-1 would be a viable option to obtain higher yield and higher net returns.