Scheduling of Nitrogen and Potassium in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Wheat is the second most important staple food after rice consumed by 65% of the population in India. Fertilizer plays a leading role in increasing crop production by almost 41%. Among the primary nutrients, nitrogen plays an important role in plant metabolism by virtue of being an essential constituent of structural component of the cell and many diverse type of metabolically active compounds. It is also a constituent of chlorophyll, which is important for the harvest of solar energy. Nitrogen is liable to lost through leaching, volatilization and run off during crop period. Further, crop requires N throughout the growth period. Potassium plays an essential role in plant growth and metabolism. It activates enzymes, maintains tissue turgor pressure, regulates stomata closing and balances the charge of anions. When applied in soil, it aggregates with clay particles so slowly release in soil. So, split application of nitrogen and potassium is seems very important and essential to be studied for wheat crop.