IDENTIFYING THE OPTIMUM NITROGEN RATE FOR MAXIMIZING WINTER WHEAT YIELD AND NITROGEN USE EFFICIENCY IN JIANGSU, CHINA

Danish Manzoor; Shujie Miao; Urooj Rehmani; Zaheer Ud Din; Muhammad Ali Khan; Syed Naimat Hussain; Abdul Rab Naich

doi:10.71146/kjmr946

Authors

Danish Manzoor School of Ecology and Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China. Author
Shujie Miao School of Ecology and Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China. Author
Urooj Rehmani School of Ecology and Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China. Author
Zaheer Ud Din Department of Biotechnology, National Formosa University, 64 Wenhua Road, Huwei, Yunlin 632, Taiwan. Author
Muhammad Ali Khan College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Pakistan. Author
Syed Naimat Hussain Department of Agricultural Engineering, Sindh Agriculture University of Tandojam, Pakistan. Author
Abdul Rab Naich Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam, Pakistan. Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71146/kjmr946

Keywords:

winter Wheat, Nitrogen application, Yield response, Growth parameters, Grain yield, Spike density, Agronomic traits, Nitrogen use efficiency, Cropland management, Fertilizer optimization

Abstract

A field study was conducted to evaluate the response of winter wheat growth and yield attributes to different nitrogen application rates under cropland conditions. Treatments consisted of increasing nitrogen levels from N0 to N300 kg ha⁻¹. Results showed that all measured agronomic traits were significantly influenced by nitrogen application. Plant height, leaf length, and spike length increased progressively with higher nitrogen rates, with maximum values recorded at N300kg ha⁻¹ (76 cm, 26 cm, and 8.3 cm, respectively), indicating enhanced vegetative growth under sufficient nitrogen supply. Yield components also improved significantly with nitrogen fertilization. Grains per spike increased from 38 in the control to 54 under N300kg ha⁻¹, while spikes per square meter more than doubled from 140 to 294, demonstrating improved tillering and reproductive development. Thousand-grain weight showed relatively limited variation but still increased slightly with nitrogen application, reaching a maximum of 50.55 g. Grain yield exhibited a strong response to nitrogen, rising from 2783.20 kg ha⁻¹ in the control to 7064.58 kg ha⁻¹ under N300kg ha⁻¹. However, yield gains began to plateau beyond N240-N300kg ha⁻¹, indicating diminishing returns at higher nitrogen levels. Although N300kg ha⁻¹ produced the highest yield, differences among the highest nitrogen treatments were minimal, suggesting an optimal response range between N270 and N300kg ha⁻¹ under the conditions studied. Overall, nitrogen application significantly enhanced winter wheat growth and productivity, primarily by improving vegetative growth, spike density, and grain number. However, the observed plateau at higher nitrogen rates highlights the need for optimized nitrogen management to maximize yield efficiency while avoiding unnecessary fertilizer inputs.

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