Volume 15, Issue 58, 2026 (April – June)
Research Article
Enhancing Wheat Productivity through Foliar Application of Urea and Balanced NPK Fertilizers
Manisha Kumari, Mahaveer Prasad Ola, Raju Singh Jakhar, Kailash Choudhary and Sangan Singh
Keywords: Wheat, Water soluble fertilizers, Foliar nutrition, Urea, 19:19:19, Yield, Economics
DOI:10.37273/chesci.cs062057061
Abstract
A field experiment was conducted during the Rabi season to evaluate the effect of water soluble fertilizers on growth, yield attributes, yield and economics of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The experiment comprised eight treatments involving recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF), foliar application of urea and water soluble fertilizer 19:19:19 at vegetative and flowering stages. The results revealed that application of RDF along with foliar spray of urea at vegetative stage and 19:19:19 at flowering stage significantly enhanced plant growth, dry matter accumulation, yield attributes and yield of wheat. Among the treatments, T₇ (RDF + Urea at vegetative stage + 19:19:19 at flowering stage) recorded maximum plant height at harvest (109.5 cm), dry matter accumulation (812.6 g m⁻²), effective tillers (358 m⁻²), spike length (11.4 cm), spikelets spike⁻¹ (20.6), test weight (44.8 g), grain yield (4765 kg ha⁻¹) and straw yield (6825 kg ha⁻¹). The same treatment also recorded highest gross monetary returns (Rs. 1,19,250 ha⁻¹), net monetary returns (Rs. 72,450 ha⁻¹) and B:C ratio (1.55). Improvement in crop performance was mainly attributed to balanced nutrient availability, improved nutrient use efficiency and enhanced photosynthetic activity due to foliar nutrition. The study concluded that integrated use of RDF along with foliar application of urea and water soluble fertilizer significantly improved productivity and profitability of wheat under irrigated conditions.
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