ABSTRACT
RESPONSE OF PRUNING MANAGEMENT ON GRAIN YIELD, BIOMASS PRODUCTION AND WATER USE EFFICIENCY OF WHEAT CROP IN SEMI-ARID REGION OF PUNJAB
Journal: Big Data In Water Resources Engineering (BDWRE)
Author: Tehmena Rashid, Shahzad Ahmad, Muhammad Mazhar Iqbal, Ghulam Hussain, Ihtesham Hussain Khan, Zarina Yasmeen, Maira Naeem, Muhammad Arbaz Madni
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
DOI: 10.26480/bdwre.01.2024.01.05
During the year 2023-24, an in-depth field experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Mechanization Research Institute (AMRI) in Multan, Punjab province, to explore comprehensively the effect of pruning level on grain yield, Biomass Production, Water use Efficiency and other characteristics contributing to yield of wheat crop. This experiment involved a careful comparison of the performance of various wheat pruning managements, ranging from light pruning, no pruning, moderate, heavy and very heavy pruning. The results revealed significant data: a maximum plant height reaching 96.42 cm, an impressive number of effective tillers per meter of row, estimated at 95.75, a remarkable spike length of 8.89 cm, as well as an exceptional grain yield of 3456.76 kg/ha. Additionally, straw yield was recorded at a high level of 5114.23 kg/ha. Crucially, water use efficiency was calculated at 0.43 kg/cm3, demonstrating optimized management of this essential resource. Among the different pruning managements tested, ultra-heavy pruning, with an 80% reduction in vegetation, emerged as the most favourable treatment, generating significantly better results than those obtained with light or moderate pruning. These results provide appreciated insights for agronomic practices and increasing production in the wheat sector, including importance of appropriate pruning management for maximum production.