WHEAT (Triticum aestivum L.) PRODUCTIVITY AND SOIL ORGANIC MATTER (SOM) IMPROVEMENT BY INTEGRATED...

Wheat productivity and soil health are two of Pakistan's main concerns, as the country's population continues to grow and chemical fertiliser prices continue to rise. Aside from the price increase, excessive and unbalanced usage of chemical fertilisers can have disastrous consequences for soil health, fertility, and long-term output. Integrated nutrient management, which combines organic, microbial, and chemical fertilisers to boost crop yield, improve soil organic matter, and farmers' profitability on a long-term basis while simultaneously reducing chemical fertiliser use, is one of the potential solutions. As a result, a field experiment was carried out to assess INM's wheat production and soil health improvement (bio-organic chemical fertilisers including Zinc Sulphate and Boric Acid). The yield, growth, and ionic concentration of wheat varieties (Faisalabad 2008) as well as residual soil organic matter, N-NO3, P, and K sown in irrigated soil (ECe=0.57 dS m-1, pH=8.6) at Kalashakaku farmers' field during winter-2020 were recorded. The treatments were organised using a randomised complete block design (RCBD) (RCBD). Plant height, tillering, the number of grains spike-1, straw yield, and grain production all improved significantly (p 0.05). Similarly, INM technology dramatically enhanced the grain content of N, P, K, Zn, B, and soil organic matter. Wheat grain production was highest (4.2 tonne ha-1) when 120 kg N, 90 kg P, 60 kg K, 5 kg Zn, and 1 kg B ha-1 were applied in combination with biofertilizer and humic acid, and it was 23% higher than farmer practise (FP) and 11% higher than the recommended dose of fertiliser (RDF), respectively. The residual SOM was 1.0 percent, which was 11% higher than the control group. This study demonstrates that INM has enormous potential in terms of plant nutrient supply for increasing wheat production and improving soil organic matter on a long-term basis.

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