Impact of integrated nutrient management on productivity and profitability of wheat under long-term (40 years) rice-wheat cropping system

A long-term field experiment was carried out to evaluate the impact of long-term (40 years) different integrated nutrient management strategies on crop growth attributes, productivity and economic profitability of wheat within a rice-wheat cropping system. The study comprised 11 treatment combinations and  replicated three times. Organic nutrient sources, including farmyard manure, wheat straw and green manure using Sesbania aculeata, were incorporated. The findings demonstrated that applying 50 % of the Recommended Dose of Fertilizers (RDF) combined with 50 % nitrogen (N) from FYM during rice cultivation, followed by 100 % RDF in wheat (T6), significantly improved wheat grain yield (4435 kg/ha) and yield-related parameters compared to other treatments. Growth attributes, such as plant height, leaf area index, number of tillers per square meter, number of earheads per square meter, grains per earhead, earhead length and 1000-grain weight, showed substantial variation under different nutrient management practices. The treatment T6 exhibited the superior performance in terms of plant height and yield attributes at various growth stages. Furthermore, T6 had recorded the highest net returns and benefit-cost (B:C) ratio, indicating a greater economic efficiency. Thus, the present study concludes that replacing 50 % of inorganic nitrogen with organic sources such as FYM, wheat straw/green manure in rice, coupled with 100 % RDF in wheat, enhances crop productivity and profitability and quality of wheat in long-term rice-wheat cropping system of Indo-Gangetic Plains and similar agro-ecological regions worldwide.