Impact of Nitrogen Sources on Yield of Fine Basmati Rice under Different Locations in the Gujranwala Zone, Punjab, Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24925/turjaf.v14i4.1132-1141.8576Keywords:
Neem , Sulphur and zinc coated urea , Grain yield , Nitrogen use efficiency , Economic analysisAbstract
A two-year field study (2023-2024) was carried out to assess the impact of various nitrogen sources: Control (no nitrogen), urea (ordinary), calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN), ammonium sulphate, neem-coated urea, sulphur-coated urea, and zinc-coated urea, on the yield of fine Basmati cultivars (PK-1121 aromatic, Super Basmati and Kissan Basmati). Across various locations and years, nitrogen sources had a significant impact on all parameters, except grains per panicle at Gujranwala and Kamoki and 1000-grain weight at Nowshera Virkan and Kamoki in 2024. Sulphur-coated urea consistently exhibited maximum plant height, productive tillers, grains per panicle, 1000-grain weight, grain yield, Agronomic Nitrogen Use Efficiency (ANUE), and economic returns across all locations during both years of experimentation. The higher grain yields with sulphur-coated urea application were reported at Gujranwala (4.813 and 5.647 t ha⁻¹ in 2023 and 2024, respectively), Kamoki (4.220 and 4.323 t ha⁻¹ in 2023 and 2024, respectively), and Nowshera Virkan (4.547 and 4.107 t ha⁻¹ in 2023 and 2024, respectively). Zinc-coated urea and ammonium sulphate ranked second most effective nitrogen sources across all locations. Sulphur-coated urea among the six nitrogen sources exhibited maximum ANUE, with values ranging from 8.94 to 21.17 kg grains kg⁻¹ Nitrogen applied, across three locations (Kamoki, Gujranwala and Nowshera Virkan) over both years (2023-2024). Sulphur coated urea significantly enhanced the grain yield, with 27-82% increased grain yield than control, succeeded by zinc coated urea, which enhanced grain yield by 23-77% over the control. Other sources of nitrogen, including ammonium sulphate, calcium ammonium nitrate and urea improved yield by 17-73% across three locations over both years. The study concludes that sulphur-coated urea is the optimal and profitable nitrogen source for fine Basmati rice production in the Gujranwala region, offering significant improvements in productivity, nitrogen use efficiency, and economic returns. The adoption of enhanced-efficiency fertilizers can greatly reduce nitrogen losses and boost profitability for rice growers.
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