Wheat Growth and Yield in the Rice -Wheat Cropping System: Impact of Crop Establishment Techniques, Sowing Schedule and Nitrogen management

Wheat Growth and Yield in the Rice -Wheat Cropping System: Impact of Crop Establishment Techniques, Sowing Schedule and Nitrogen management | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Wheat Growth and Yield in the Rice -Wheat Cropping System: Impact of Crop Establishment Techniques, Sowing Schedule and Nitrogen management Vandna Chhabra, S Sreethu, Gurleen Kaur This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4235158/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 09 Jul, 2024 Read the published version in International Journal of Plant Production → Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract A two-year field experiment was conducted at Lovely Professional University, Phagwara during the Rabi season of 2018–2019 and 2019-20 to study the effect of crop establishment methods and sowing schedule on the growth and yield of wheat under the rice-wheat cropping system. The experiment comprised different rice residue management-based wheat establishment methods, sowing dates, and varying nitrogen levels. The results confirmed that growth, yield and yield attributes were all influenced by different crop establishment methods, sowing dates and level of nitrogen application. The results showed that maximum plant height, number of tillers per plant, number of spikes per plant, spike length, number of grains per spike and grain yield were observed under 20th November sowing (timely sowing) and with 100% RDN. Moreover, the maximum number of spikes per plant, spike length and grain yield were significantly highest for residue incorporation method of wheat establishment. Optimum time of sowing also improved the grain yield of wheat. Among the different crop establishment methods, the best attainment of available nitrogen status in soil was found in residue incorporation treatment. Rice-Wheat nitrogen date of sowing residue uptake yield growth Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Introduction Rice-wheat is a major cropping sequence in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of South Asia and plays a vital role in meeting global food security. Across an estimated 24 million hectares in Asian subtropical countries, the rice-wheat cropping system (RWCS) is a major food production system that sustains most of the the continent's population. The area of rice and wheat grown in these Asian countries is approximately 32% and 42%, respectively, of the total area (Memon et al., 2018 ). However, the double cropping system significantly reduces soil nutrients as both crops are exhaustive in nature which results in the removal of most of the nutrients by plants as harvested produce (Sarkar et al., 2020 ). Recurring cultivation of RWCS has threatened the long-term sustainability and leads to excessive nutrient mining in the soil and thereby leads to fatigue in productivity (Ullah et al., 2021 ; Nawaz et al., 2019 ). With the introduction of mechanical rice and wheat harvesting in recent years, farmers now typically burn crop residues on-site as the management of straw and residue became a significant challenge for farmers as they interfere with tillage and seeding operations for the following crop (Gupta et al., 2019; Gupta et al. 2007 ). Resources and nutrients are lost when the residue is burned besides deteriorating the ambient air quality (Porichha et al., 2021 ; Gupta et al., 2007 ). About 24 Mt of rice residue was burned in NW India, which is a frequent method of residue disposal and resulted in decreased microbial activity (Arunrat et al., 2023 , Kumar et al., 2019 ). The removal of crop residue from farms has disrupted the mass balance of the ecosystem, it has severely reduced the nutrients in the soil and decreased the soil's ability to produce in the long run. Recycling of crop residues is recommended to have better soil health in the RW cropping system (Gupta et al., 2020 ; Singh et al., 2018 ). The best time to plant a wheat variety in given location depends on several factors, including temperature, rainfall patterns, and the amount of time the variety takes to mature. Optimum sowing time is one of the beneficial elements influencing crop development, growth, and financial yield. Additionally, it has been proposed that late sowing of wheat exposes it to higher temperatures during the filling stage, or "terminal heat," which is harmful to leaf photosynthesis, filling, and the formation of the final yield. A delay in sowing also exposed winter wheat to adverse weather conditions during the sowing-wintering period, resulting in lower average daily temperatures, less solar radiation, and higher active accumulated temperatures, which resulted in 1% reduction in yield per day of delay in sowing (Shah et al., 2020 ). However, it has also been suggested that delayed sowing in wheat increases the yield by improving the water and nutrient use efficiency by developing more resistance to lodging (Dai et al., 2017 ). Thus, more research is needed to determine the best time to sow wheat in the field as well as how to determine the various sowing dates for wheat in the area. For rice-wheat systems to remain sustainable and profitable, nutrient management through fertilizer application is a crucial practice (Cheng et al., 2022 ). To attain a noteworthy crop yield, nitrogen fertilizers (N) are frequently utilized as an essential component for healthy plant development (Leghari et al., 2016 ). Farmers frequently apply nitrogen fertilizers to their crops to increase yields because nitrogen is a crucial macronutrient for growth and metabolism (Park et al., 2023 ). Nitrogen is an important yield limiting nutrient and its consumption raised from 0.21 million tons in the 1960s to 17.0 million tons in 2018 (FAI 2018). To reduce nutrient losses from the field and to meet crop requirements, balanced N application is essential (Dhawan et al., 2022 ). Therefore, it is essential to decrease chemical fertilizer overdosing and match soil availability to crop demand to increase NUE. These days, overuse of fertilizer N contributes to climate change and N-related environmental pollution (Sapkota & Takele 2023 ). Thus, optimizing the dose of nitrogen has become a serious topic. Hence, with the aforementioned information in consideration, the current experiment was designed to examine the impact of crop establishment techniques, sowing schedule and nitrogen management on wheat growth, yield, yield attributes and nutrient uptake under rice wheat cropping system. Materials and methods Site characteristics During the rabi seasons of 2018–19 and 2019–20, a two-year field study was conducted at a farmers’ field in Fatehgarh Churian, District Gurdaspur, Punjab (India) (Fig. 1 ). The site of the experiment was situated at 31 ⸰ 51'N and 74 ⸰ 57'E and 237 m above mean sea level. The mean maximum temperature of the study site was 39 0 C and the minimum temperature was 6 0 C for the year 2018-19. However, these values were 41 0 C and 3 0 C for 2019-20. The total rainfall received during the crop duration was 393 mm and 365 mm respectively for 2018-19 and 2019-20. Soil characteristics The pH of the soil at the testing site ranged from neutral to slightly alkaline in nature. Analysis of initial soil in the experimental site revealed low levels of available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium level. Soil composites were collected from 0–15 cm depth using an auger in order to assess the chemical properties of the soil. The physio chemical characteristics of the soil prior to the experimentation is presented in Table 1 . Table 1 Initial physio-chemical properties of soil (0–15 cm) Properties Value Method pH 7.2 pH meter (Piper 2019 ) Electrical conductivity (dS/m) 0.53 EC bridge (Jackson 1958 ) Organic carbon (%) 0.43 Walkley and Black 1934 Available N(kg/ha) 258.7 Alkaline Permanganate Method (Subbiah and Asija Available P (kg/ha) 14.7 Olsen’s method (Jackson 2005) Available K(kg/ha) 50.4 Flame photometer method (Jackson 2005) Experimental site and treatments particulars The experiment was laid out in a split-split plot design in three replications with treatment combinations of three methods of crop establishment i.e., Residue removal (RR) (M1), Residue Incorporation (RI) (M2) and Residue burning (RB) (M3) in the main plots and subplots contains the combination of three date of sowing (20th November (D1), 5th December (D2) and 20th December (D3)) along with the three different levels of nitrogen (50% Recommended dose of Nitrogen (RDN) + Recommended PK (N1), 75% Recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) (N2), 100% Recommended dose of Nitrogen (RDN) + Recommended PK (N3). The size of each sub plot was 20m 2 (4m×5m). The experiment was started in wheat season for both the years of 2018-19 and 2019-20. The required quantity of seed of HD 3086 variety was taken @100 kg ha-1 and sown by the broadcasting method as per the timing of sowing. The experiment was started in wheat season for both the years of 2018-19 and 2019-20. At sowing, half the quantity of nitrogen and the whole quantity of phosphorous and potassium according to treatment was incorporated. The remaining dose of urea was applied after the first irrigation. Urea, DAP and MOP were applied to provide nutrients in the form of NPK respectively. The crop was irrigated 4 times depending upon rainfall occurrence. During 2018-19 first (1st ) irrigation was given 21 days after wheat sowing. Second irrigation was applied after 5th week from the first irrigation and subsequently, irrigation was given as per the need. During 2019-20 first irrigation was applied at the CRI stage and the second irrigation was applied after the 5th week and subsequent irrigation thereafter. Weeds are controlled with the help of mechanical methods viz. hand hoeing. Two hand hoeing was done to control weed population, first weeding before first irrigation to crop and second after irrigation. The crop was harvested after 140–150 days with the help of sickles. One m 2 area was harvested to get the biomass from the net plot size. Threshing was performed with hands and grains were separated from the spikes and dried properly at 18–20% moisture level. Growth attributes Plant height was recorded from the ground surface to the top of the highest leaf on the main shoot with the help of a meter rod at 30, 60 and 90 DAS and harvesting. The average plant height of five plants was obtained and presented as the mean plant height (cm). For the assessment of tillers per plant, ten plants were randomly selected, and number of tillers were manually counted at an interval of 30 and 60 DAS. Yield and yield attributes: Yield attributes like spike length, number of grains per spike and weight of grain per spike were evaluated from ten randomly selected plants from each treatment. The crop from net plot area was harvested and threshed manually. The weight of grain in kg was recorded and was then converted into t/ha. Nutrient Uptake & Nitrogen Harvest Index (NHI): The total grain N uptake was calculated by multiplying total grain yields by their respective N content. Nitrogen Harvest Index (NHI) representing the nitrogen use efficiency was estimated by Belete et al. 2018 . The formula used for calculating NHI is as follows: $$NHI \left(\%\right)=\left(\frac{N accumulated in grain}{The amount of N accumulated in grain plus straw}\right)\times 100$$ Statistical analysis Data collected from the experiment were analyzed using three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The ANOVA was done by Fischer’s method by using OP Stat Software developed by HAU, Hisar and R studio and interpretation of results was done. The statistical significance of the experimental data was determined at 5% level of significance by using “F test” and wherever F value was found significant, critical difference (p = 0.05) value was calculated. Results and Discussions Plant height (cm) The data about the effect of establishing method, date of sowing and nitrogen application on plant height (cm) are presented in Table 2 . For 30 (12.2 cm), 60 (44.2 cm), and 90 DAS (86.3 cm), a significant influence of plant height was identified in M3, while M2 showed a significant effect at harvest (93.3 cm) in 2018–19. In 2019–20, however, M3 was discovered to have higher plant height at 30 (11.4 cm), 60 DAS (44.6 cm), 90DAS (88.4 cm) and at harvest (93.4 cm). M1 and M3 was found to be statistically similar with each other at harvest. Netam et al in 2019 and Dahri et al. in the year 2018 also exhibited increased plant height and tiller number by residue incorporation methods. It was discovered that D1 had a significant effect on plant height in both years, demonstrating unequivocally that timely and early seeding of the wheat crop is essential to the plant's vegetative growth. A decrease in plant height in response to delayed sowing and tillage techniques was also noted (Khan et al., 2015 , Baloch et al., 2012 and Nazir et al., 2005 ). Similar findings were reported by Hussain et al., 2021 where they found that maximum plant height was obtained when wheat was sown on 16th Nov and the minimum plant height was obtained under delayed sowing dates. Although hereditary factors play a major role in determining plant height, environmental factors also have an impact. This is explained by the fact that, in contrast to late sowing, a maximum period of low temperature and a brief photoperiod were available for vegetative growth to the crop sown on November 20. These results were like the findings of Singh et al., 2021 , Gupta et al., 2016. From the comparison of the nitrogen doses the extra dose of Nitrogen (100% RDF) (N3) had a significant impact on plant height during the study period of two years. Sirohi et al., 2022 also suggested similar results where they observed that additional dose of nitrogen improved plant height of wheat crop. In the initial year, plant height was not significantly affected by the interaction of the three study components residue burning (M3), early/timely sowing (D1), and recommended N level (100% of RDN) from the beginning to the end of the growth phase. However, there was a significant interaction between MXD from the 30 DAS to the harvest stage and MXN at 30 DAS and harvest. On the other hand, for the second year, the three parameters under investigation together have no discernible effect on the height of the wheat plant throughout the stages. The relationship between sowing timings and methods, however, was discovered to be substantial at every stage except. for 90 DAS. Tillers/plant For both 30 (26.9) and 60 (26.3) DAS, the maximum number of tillers/plant was recorded in M3 during the first year of study (Table 2 ). Given the frequency of frost and extremely low minimum temperatures wheat experienced during this time, the maximum number of tillers in the RB method may be due to the tillers' rapid growth and reduced mortality because of the congenial temperature conditions created by residue burning. During the second year, M2 was discovered to be one of the strategies that was statistically significant for both 30 (24.1) and 60 (24.8) DAS. The study's second year likewise revealed the highest number of tillers in the residue inclusion, which was attributed to greater N being accessible to plants because of more residues decomposing in the soil (Alam et al., 2020 ). A significant number of tillers/plants was observed for D1 during the study period of 2 years for both 30 DAS and 60 DAS. It was also observed that there was a decrease in trend with delay in sowing. These observations were corroborated by Alam et al., 2022 suggested that the optimum period of wheat sowing increased tillering in wheat. However, no difference in tiller count (25.6) was observed for both N3 and N2 at 30DAS for the first year of the experiment. Whereas N1 and N2 was found to receive same number of tillers at 60DAS. In the second year of the experiment, N3 was found to be significantly affecting the tiller count for both 30 (22.9) and 60 DAS (22.3). These results were in line with the findings of Sorady et al., 2022. All the interactions observed among factors w.r.t tiller number were non-significant except MXD at 30 DAS. While significant interaction was shown between methods and N levels at 60 DAS during the year 2018-19. For the year 2019-20, the relationship among all three factors was non-significant; however, the interaction of sowing date with methods and nitrogen level was significant at 60DAS. Yield and Yield attributes: Effective tillers plant − 1 Effective tillers per plant observed during 2018-19 and 2019-20 were maximum under residue incorporation treatment to the tune of 20.5 and 17.7 respectively (Table 3 ). For M2, the average number of effective tillers was likewise highest throughout both years, followed by residue burning (M3) and residue removal (M1). When it comes to sowing schedules, timely sowing of wheat has produced the highest effective tiller count per plant in 2018–19 and 2019–2020 when compared to sowing delayed by 15 and 30 days. This could be attributed to the longer vegetative phase of late-sown plants, which gives the crop more time to photosynthesize food. It is further supported by the research conducted by Alam et al., in 2013, which showed that earlier wheat sowing significantly increased tiller count, spike number, and grain production. In N3, the most effective tiller number (20.2) was seen in 2018–19. For N2 and N1, the corresponding numbers were 19.1 and 18.0. A similar pattern for N levels was also noted in 2019–20; the highest was 15.7, with N2, following with N3 (15.1) and N1 (15.0) respectively. Good vegetative growth may have contributed to the largest number of effective tillers produced throughout the research period at a higher nitrogen rate. It was discovered that there was a significant interaction between the techniques and the sowing date; that is, planting crops on the first or second dates, i.e., November 20 or December 5, with residue integration, would result in the greatest number of productive tillers per plant. Additionally, for the same year, a relationship between the nitrogen (MXN) dose and crop establishment techniques was noted. A relationship between techniques and sowing schedules was noted in 2019–20. Compared to late-sown plants, a prolonged vegetative period may provide the crop more time to photosynthesize food, resulting in a greater number of effective tillers. The results of Alam et al., in the year 2013, showed that timely wheat sowing significantly increased tiller count, spike number, and grain production, further support this. Table 2 Effect of wheat establishment method, date of sowing and different nitrogen levels on periodic plant height (cm) and tillers/ plant Plant height (cm) No. of tillers/plant Treatment 2018–2019 2019–2020 2018–2019 2019–2020 days after sowing days after sowing days after sowing 30 60 90 At harvest 30 60 90 At harvest 30 60 30 60 Wheat Establishment Methods M1 10.0 a 42.1 b 83.4 b 89.4 b 10.4 b 43.2 a 80.1 c 89.5 b 24.5 b 23.1 b 20.7 c 19.0 c M2 9.6 c 34.8 c 62.3 c 93.3 a 11.2 a 43.8 a 88.4 a 93.4 a 24.8 b 22.9 b 24.1 a 24.8 a M3 12.2 a 44.2 a 86.3 a 89.2 b 11.4 a 44.6 a 85.7 b 89.3 b 26.9 a 26.3 a 22.5 b 21.3 b Dates of Sowing D1 11.1 a 41.8 a 78.3 a 92.9 a 11.5 a 45.3 a 87.2 a 93.0 a 26.7 a 25.4 a 23.7 a 22.3 a D2 10.5 b 40.3 b 77.2 b 90.4 b 10.9 b 43.6 b 84.8 a 90.4 b 25.2 a 24.3 a 22.5 b 21.9 a D3 10.1 c 39.0 c 76.4 c 88.7 c 10.6 b 42.7 c 82.3 b 88.7 c 24.3 b 22.7 b 21.1 c 21.0 b Nitrogen Levels N1 10.1 c 39.8 c 76.5 c 89.5 c 10.6 b 43.4 b 82.3 c 89.5 b 25.0 b 23.4 b 22.1 b 20.9 c N2 10.6 b 40.4 b 77.5 b 90.7 b 11.0 a 43.8 b 84.6 b 90.8 b 25.6 a 23.9 b 22.4 b 21.9 b N3 11.0 a 40.9 a 78.1 a 91.8 a 11.3 a 44.5 a 87.3 a 91.9 a 25.6 a 25.2 a 22.9 a 22.3 a Interaction M X D X N NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS Spike length (cm) In the 2018–19 season, the residue removal treatment (M1) resulted in the longest spike length (10.3 cm) in wheat plants, however the differences with the other two treatments were not statistically significant. But in the second year of the trial, or 2019–20, the residue incorporation method (M2) of wheat establishment achieved the longest spike length (12.1 cm), followed by M3 and M1 (Table 3 ). The increase in soil organic matter content, nutrient availability, and moderation of the soil's hydrothermal regime led to improvement in yield contributing attributes (Humphreys et al., 2016 ; Iqbal et al., 2017 ). Similar findings were observed by Gupta et al., 2024 . With a mean value of 10.9 & 11.3 cm, the timely planting date of November 20th demonstrated superiority in spike length during the 2018–19 and 2019–20 growing seasons than the other two sowing dates. When compared to delayed wheat sowing, the maximum spike length attained by early sowing may be the result of increased photosynthetic rate, increased assimilate production, and transfer of nutrients from source to sink as the crop receives more time for vegetative growth. When examining the impact of varying N levels on spike length, it was found that there was no discernible variation between the levels of N in 2018–19; however, in 2019–20, after applying 25% more N, a greater spike length was produced, which may have resulted from residue incorporation effect. These findings are consistent with those of Verma and Pandey 2013 , who noted that the maximum spike length in wheat crops increased with an additional NPK dose. Since N is essential for tissue development, cell division, and enhancing plant growth, increasing the dose of N fertilizer produced higher yield attributes (Singh et al., 2022 ; Sahoo et al., 2020 ). For the years 2018–19, an interaction between the method of establishment and the dose of nitrogen (MXN) was shown to be significant; however, for the years 2019–20, an interaction between the method of establishment and the date of sowing (MXD) was identified. Number of grains spike − 1 Throughout the study period, M3 (49.4 and 40.7) was determined to have the highest number of grains per spike, which was significant. Comparing M3 to the first year (2018–19), a 12% decrease in grains was seen, which was comparable to incorporation and removal techniques. The lower minimum temperature during the vegetative phase, which occurs from the end of December to mid-February, and the higher maximum temperature during the grain-filling stage of the crop may be the cause of the decreased number of grains per spike for 2019–20. Reduced grain number per spike due to heat stress was also mentioned (Pradhan et al., 2019 and Jaiswal et al., 2017 ). The first date (20 November) of the three sowing dates yielded a considerably higher number of grains (50.5 & 41.2) for both research years compared to the other two sowing dates. It was also reported that late seeding of wheat resulted in the lowest grain count per spike (Jaiswal et al., 2017 ). For both research years, it was discovered that the nitrogen dose, N3 (48.2 and 39.4), significantly affected the quantity of grains per spike. It was observed that a higher urea dosage in the first years of residue integration increased grain count in the following years (Singh et al., 2015 ). However, their recommended amount may also have contributed to the sink due to improved source size. Given that for the years 2018–19 and 2019–20, there is considerable interaction between sowing dates and methods in terms of grains per spike. Furthermore, a relationship between the N levels and the approaches was noted for the amount of grains each spike. Grain Yield (t/ha) The wheat establishment residue incorporation technique (M2) produced the highest grain yield (5.7 t ha − 1 ) during the first year of the study (2018–19) (Table 3 ). This approach was comparable to the grain yield of the residue removal method (M1), which was followed by the residue burning method, which produced a grain yield of roughly 5.4 t ha − 1 . In 2019–20, the M2 method produced a statistically greater yield (5.3 t ha –1) , followed by the M3 and residue incorporation (M1) methods, but this yield was lower than in 2018–19. Stronger nutrient availability, improved soil quality, temperature adjustments, increased soil organic matter and soil aggregate stability (Li et al. 2013 ), decreased water loss and increased moisture storage due to finer texture (Choudhury et al., 2014 ), and increased residue retention under NT system could all be contributing factors to the rising trend in wheat yield. Similar findings were recorded by Mirzaei et al., 2021 ; Zahid et al., 2020 . Reducing air pollution, conserving water, suppressing weeds, increasing yield, and stabilizing crop temperature are just a few advantages of managing rice residue (Singh et al., 2018 ). Wheat seeded early (D1) had a favourable yield impact; maximum grain yields of 5.9 and 5.5 t ha − 1 were produced in 2018–19 and 2019–20, respectively, and these yields were statistically distinct from those of the other two sowing dates. According to the findings of Shah et al., 2020 , the grain yield decreased by 1% for every day that the sowing date was postponed. While examining the third factor that influences the production of grain, namely the levels of nitrogen (N), it has been observed that an augmentation in grain yield occurred for the years 2018-19 and 2019-20, when the nitrogen dosage was increased from 50–100% of the recommended amount, denoted as N3. The reason for this phenomenon could potentially be attributed to the function performed by N in augmenting the developmental growth of plants and optimizing their photosynthetic capabilities, thereby resulting in elevated levels of dry matter and yield (Zhai et al., 2022 and Belete et al., 2018 ). It was also reported that enhancement in the productivity of wheat and its associated attributes when subjected to appropriate increments in N (Sticksel et al., 2000 ). Optimum dose of nitrogen application results in massive biomass buildup in a photosynthetic area, which in turn increased the potential grain yield (Khan et al., 2018 ). All interactions about grain yield in the years 2018-19 and 2019-20 were determined to be statistically insignificant, with the exception being the relation between the timing of sowing and the varying levels of nitrogen. A noteworthy finding from the 2019-20 period was the presence of a significant interaction between the different methods employed and the levels of nitrogen. At a nitrogen concentration of 50%, both D1 and D2 exhibited similar performance concerning grain yield. However, as the nitrogen concentration increased to 75% and 100%, timely sown wheat outperformed D2 in terms of increasing grain yield. The act of planting on the 20th of December resulted in a delay in the production of grain yield across all nitrogen levels. It was observed that there was a decrease in grain yield of D3 by 13, 16, and 16 percent compared to D1 (which was sown on the 20th of November). The combination of a higher nitrogen dose and the incorporation of residue has been documented to result in a higher yield (Jacimovic et al., 2023 and Khatri, 2019). Table 2 Effect of wheat establishment method, date of sowing and different nitrogen levels on effective tillers/plant, spike length (cm), number of grains per spike and grain yield (t/ha) of wheat Treatment 2018 2019 Effective tillers plant − 1 Spike length (cm) Number of grains spike − 1 Grain yield (t/ha) Effective tillers plant − 1 Spike length (cm) Number of grains spike − 1 Grain yield (t/ha) Wheat Establishment Methods M1 17.6 c 10.3 47.2 b 5.7 a 13.6 c 10.0 c 37.5 c 5.1 b M2 20.5 a 10.0 43.3 c 5.7 a 17.7 a 12.1 a 38.1 b 5.3 a M3 19.1 b 9.9 49.4 a 5.4 b 14.5 b 10.4 b 40.7 a 5.1 b Dates of Sowing D1 20.1 a 10.9 a 50.5 a 5.9 a 16.7 a 11.3 a 41.2 a 5.5 a D2 19.1 b 10.2 b 46.2 b 5.6 b 15.3 b 10.9 b 39.0 b 5.3 b D3 18.0 c 9.2 c 43.2 c 5.3 c 13.8 c 10.3 c 36.0 c 4.7 c Nitrogen Levels N1 18.0 c 10.1 45.2 c 5.5 c 15.0 b 10.4 c 37.9 b 5.0 b N2 19.1 b 10.2 46.5 b 5.6 b 15.7 a 10.9 b 39.0 a 5.2 a N3 20.2 a 10.0 48.2 a 5.7 a 15.1 b 11.2 a 39.4 a 5.3 a Interaction M X D X N NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS Available N (kg ha − 1 ) The greatest amount of N that could be used for residue incorporation in 2018–19 was 257.0 kg per hectare, which was statistically greater than M3 and M1, in that order (Table 4). Even though the highest value was 255.2 kg ha − 1 here under the same treatment, a similar trend in the available data was detected during the second year of the study 2019–20. Our research findings were corroborated with the findings of Kumar et al. 2021 who also reported that addition of crop residue incorporation improved the available nitrogen status in soil. In both years, D1 (256.6 and 255.0) was found to be significantly higher than D2 (252.9 and 251.5) and D3 (250.7 and 249.7) when the dates of sowing were compared with the available N. N3 (256.2 and 253.9), obtained elevated level of available nitrogen, and was significantly higher than the other two treatments. Sanjeevaradi ( 2001 ) and Parmar and Sharma ( 2001 ) confirmed the same findings. They noticed that available N varied greatly between N levels and that high available N had higher doses of N up to 125 kg/ha. Iimprovement in available nitrogen status with residue incorporation was also observed (Cui et al., 2022 ). Nitrogen fertilizer when applied at required rates, soil total N and available N status are increased in the surface of the soil, which also increases crop productivity and the N economy of cereal cropping systems (Wang et al., 2018 ; Aula et al., 2016 ). For every year of the study, the interaction between the three components was determined to be non-significant. Regarding the times and techniques of sowing, the interaction was discovered to be significant. Grain N uptake (kg ha − 1 ) Grain uptake of nitrogen represented the yield response to the rate of nitrogen administration. A comparable pattern was seen for both research years, with M1 (96.5 and 88.0) and M2 (95.9 and 90.0) treatments being statistically similar with each other, followed by M3 (82.0 and 77.4) (Table 4). Among the various sowing dates, grain N uptake was determined to be at its maximum (98.1 and 91 kg ha-1) at D1 sowing time in the years 2018–19 and 2019–20, respectively. When comparing the N levels between the two years, N3 (94.5 and 88.6) was found to be significantly higher than N2 (91.3 and 84.5) and N1 (88.6 and 82.3). The pattern was consistent for both years. It was observed that applying a greater dose of N ha − 1 to wheat resulted in increased N uptake (Hussain et al., 2022 ). The important interactions between MXD and MXN indicate that the uptake of nitrogen by plant grains is influenced by methods used in conjunction with these factors, in addition to the effects of sowing dates and N levels alone. Nitrogen Harvest Index (NHI %) The ratio of nitrogen in grain to nitrogen in grain plus straw is used to compute the nitrogen harvest index. NHI is a measure of a plant's ability to use nitrogen to create grains (Boulelouah et al., 2022 ). A higher NHI score indicates better N utilization. It indicates the nitrogen distribution within the plant, and more especially, where the highest amounts accumulate within the plant (Folina et al., 2021 ; Rudmin et al., 2020 ). The residue removal method in 2018–19 had a maximum NHI (%) of 77% when combined with a 100% RDN and a December 20th sowing date (Fig. 2 ). The combination of M3D1N2 showed the largest fall from the maximum NHI value, around 17%, followed by M3D2N1 and M3D2N3. M1D2N3 showed the least change. A noticeably lower NHI% was noted for the residue-burning technique (Table 5). A similar pattern was seen for the 2019–20 year, with M1D3N3 having the highest NHI value (76.9%), M1D3N2 having the least decline from this maximum value, and the residue burning method which was used for wheat sowing on (5th December) and applied with 50% RDN exhibiting the largest decline, approximately 26.3% (Table 6, Fig. 3 ). Table 3 Effect of wheat establishment method, date of sowing and different nitrogen levels on available nitrogen (kg/ha), grain nitrogen uptake (kg/ha) and nitrogen harvest index (%) of wheat Treatment 2018-19 2019-20 Available N (kg ha − 1 ) Grain N uptake (kg ha − 1 ) Nitrogen Harvest Index (NHI %) Available N (kg ha − 1 ) Grain N uptake (kg ha − 1 ) Nitrogen Harvest Index (NHI %) Wheat Establishment Methods M1 249.3 c 96.5 a 73.1 ab 248.5 c 88.0 a 70.6 b M2 257.0 a 95.9 a 73.4 a 255.2 a 90.0 a 71.6 a M3 253.9 b 82.0 b 64.0 b 252.6 b 77.4 b 69.5 c Dates of Sowing D1 256.6 a 98.1 a 68.9 c 255.0 a 91.0 a 69.3 c D2 252.9 b 91.2 b 69.9 b 251.5 b 85.0 b 70.5 b D3 250.7 c 85.1 c 71.8 a 249.7 c 79.4 c 71.9 a Nitrogen Levels N1 250.8 c 88.6 c 69.5 c 250.2 c 82.3 c 70.5 ab N2 253.3 b 91.3 b 69.9 b 252.1 b 84.5 b 70.1 b N3 256.2 a 94.5 a 71.2 a 253.9 a 88.6 a 71.2 a Interaction M X D X N NS NS 3.1 NS NS 2.4 Conclusions Based on the two-year field experimentation, different crop establishment methods like crop residue incorporation under different sowing times along with nutrient management were applied to achieve optimum crop growth and to enhance grain yield and quality. It was concluded that among different wheat establishment methods, residue incorporation received maximum plant height, effective tillers, grain yield and nutrient uptake. Among the different sowing dates, maximum plant height, effective tillers, Grain yield, nutrient uptake and improvement in soil nutrient status were obtained when sowing was done on 20th November (D1). With respect to different nitrogen doses, 100% Recommended dose of nitrogen improved growth, yield as well as quality of wheat grain. Declarations Acknowledgements The authors thank the Department of Agronomy, School of Agriculture, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, for providing the necessary research facilities and technical support. Funding: This research received no external funding. Compliance with ethical standards Conflict of interest: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4235158","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":292424779,"identity":"dba8f42f-6aa9-4609-850b-01529e459109","order_by":0,"name":"Vandna Chhabra","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2676-2561","institution":"Lovely Professional University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vandna","middleName":"","lastName":"Chhabra","suffix":""},{"id":292424780,"identity":"675c3257-11da-4a80-9ef7-480d14bf8068","order_by":1,"name":"S Sreethu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Lovely Professional University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"S","middleName":"","lastName":"Sreethu","suffix":""},{"id":292424781,"identity":"67538d78-319e-4211-be19-ce1751bcd344","order_by":2,"name":"Gurleen Kaur","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABIElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHACxgNQhhmI4LFvbwBSBhZ49aBokTHgAfENJIjXYmMgkQCicWuRj8h9cOBDxZ18/tnN2x78bLPjMZd8fnXDjwIJBv727gRsWgxvpBscnHHmmeWMO8fKDXvbknksZ+eU3ewBOkzizNkNWLXMSGM4zNt22IDhRo6ZBO82Zh6G2zlpN3iAWgwkcnFr+fvvsIE8UIvk3231PAw3z6Td/INHi7wEUAtjw2EDA6AWad5th3kMbrAfu43PFgOeZwwHe44dNjC8kVYmLfvvOI9kTw7bbRkDCR5cfpFvT2N88KPmsIHcjeRtkm/OVNvzsx9/dvPNHxs5/vZe7LYcwBTjMQCT2JSDbWnAFGN/gEv1KBgFo2AUjEwAALxCZ8c8S55ZAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2797-0860","institution":"Lovely Professional University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gurleen","middleName":"","lastName":"Kaur","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-04-08 08:50:23","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4235158/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4235158/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s42106-024-00303-5","type":"published","date":"2024-07-09T15:15:53+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":55102071,"identity":"759365c1-f7e0-47e6-b3fe-257247a6535d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-22 15:37:19","extension":"jpeg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":249463,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eExperimental study area\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4235158/v1/7e98e2b6a2adcb53ddab1250.jpeg"},{"id":55101540,"identity":"d8751687-34e5-4cb1-90f8-5f1cc7535413","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-22 15:29:19","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":8204,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eInteraction effect of sowing methods (M), dates of sowing (D) and nitrogen levels (N) on Nitrogen Harvest Index (%) of wheat during 2018-19\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Onlinedrawingimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4235158/v1/15646b1578827132165b0037.png"},{"id":55101539,"identity":"037bfd25-988e-4472-a29a-fe6f4233412b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-22 15:29:19","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":7927,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eInteraction effect of sowing methods (M), dates of sowing (D) and nitrogen levels (N) on Nitrogen Harvest Index (%) of wheat during 2019-20\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Onlinedrawingimage2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4235158/v1/535ca44a367186d171d10049.png"},{"id":61015444,"identity":"83e8d16b-1e99-42f4-b7bf-be9d01211341","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-07-24 15:15:59","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1243814,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4235158/v1/ffd37677-27e0-471b-b46d-5b9931fde021.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Wheat Growth and Yield in the Rice -Wheat Cropping System: Impact of Crop Establishment Techniques, Sowing Schedule and Nitrogen management","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eRice-wheat is a major cropping sequence in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of South Asia and plays a vital role in meeting global food security. Across an estimated 24\u0026nbsp;million hectares in Asian subtropical countries, the rice-wheat cropping system (RWCS) is a major food production system that sustains most of the the continent's population. The area of rice and wheat grown in these Asian countries is approximately 32% and 42%, respectively, of the total area (Memon et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). However, the double cropping system significantly reduces soil nutrients as both crops are exhaustive in nature which results in the removal of most of the nutrients by plants as harvested produce (Sarkar et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR50\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Recurring cultivation of RWCS has threatened the long-term sustainability and leads to excessive nutrient mining in the soil and thereby leads to fatigue in productivity (Ullah et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR60\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Nawaz et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). With the introduction of mechanical rice and wheat harvesting in recent years, farmers now typically burn crop residues on-site as the management of straw and residue became a significant challenge for farmers as they interfere with tillage and seeding operations for the following crop (Gupta et al., 2019; Gupta et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e). Resources and nutrients are lost when the residue is burned besides deteriorating the ambient air quality (Porichha et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Gupta et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e). About 24 Mt of rice residue was burned in NW India, which is a frequent method of residue disposal and resulted in decreased microbial activity (Arunrat et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e, Kumar et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). The removal of crop residue from farms has disrupted the mass balance of the ecosystem, it has severely reduced the nutrients in the soil and decreased the soil's ability to produce in the long run. Recycling of crop residues is recommended to have better soil health in the RW cropping system (Gupta et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Singh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe best time to plant a wheat variety in given location depends on several factors, including temperature, rainfall patterns, and the amount of time the variety takes to mature. Optimum sowing time is one of the beneficial elements influencing crop development, growth, and financial yield. Additionally, it has been proposed that late sowing of wheat exposes it to higher temperatures during the filling stage, or \"terminal heat,\" which is harmful to leaf photosynthesis, filling, and the formation of the final yield. A delay in sowing also exposed winter wheat to adverse weather conditions during the sowing-wintering period, resulting in lower average daily temperatures, less solar radiation, and higher active accumulated temperatures, which resulted in 1% reduction in yield per day of delay in sowing (Shah et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). However, it has also been suggested that delayed sowing in wheat increases the yield by improving the water and nutrient use efficiency by developing more resistance to lodging (Dai et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). Thus, more research is needed to determine the best time to sow wheat in the field as well as how to determine the various sowing dates for wheat in the area.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor rice-wheat systems to remain sustainable and profitable, nutrient management through fertilizer application is a crucial practice (Cheng et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). To attain a noteworthy crop yield, nitrogen fertilizers (N) are frequently utilized as an essential component for healthy plant development (Leghari et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). Farmers frequently apply nitrogen fertilizers to their crops to increase yields because nitrogen is a crucial macronutrient for growth and metabolism (Park et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). Nitrogen is an important yield limiting nutrient and its consumption raised from 0.21\u0026nbsp;million tons in the 1960s to 17.0\u0026nbsp;million tons in 2018 (FAI 2018). To reduce nutrient losses from the field and to meet crop requirements, balanced N application is essential (Dhawan et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Therefore, it is essential to decrease chemical fertilizer overdosing and match soil availability to crop demand to increase NUE. These days, overuse of fertilizer N contributes to climate change and N-related environmental pollution (Sapkota \u0026amp; Takele \u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). Thus, optimizing the dose of nitrogen has become a serious topic. Hence, with the aforementioned information in consideration, the current experiment was designed to examine the impact of crop establishment techniques, sowing schedule and nitrogen management on wheat growth, yield, yield attributes and nutrient uptake under rice wheat cropping system.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Materials and methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSite characteristics\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eDuring the rabi seasons of 2018\u0026ndash;19 and 2019\u0026ndash;20, a two-year field study was conducted at a farmers\u0026rsquo; field in Fatehgarh Churian, District Gurdaspur, Punjab (India) (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). The site of the experiment was situated at 31\u003csup\u003e⸰\u003c/sup\u003e51'N and 74\u003csup\u003e⸰\u003c/sup\u003e57'E and 237 m above mean sea level. The mean maximum temperature of the study site was 39\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e C and the minimum temperature was 6\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e C for the year 2018-19. However, these values were 41\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e C and 3\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e C for 2019-20. The total rainfall received during the crop duration was 393 mm and 365 mm respectively for 2018-19 and 2019-20.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSoil characteristics\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe pH of the soil at the testing site ranged from neutral to slightly alkaline in nature. Analysis of initial soil in the experimental site revealed low levels of available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium level. Soil composites were collected from 0\u0026ndash;15 cm depth using an auger in order to assess the chemical properties of the soil. The physio chemical characteristics of the soil prior to the experimentation is presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInitial physio-chemical properties of soil (0\u0026ndash;15 cm)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProperties\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eValue\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMethod\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003epH\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003epH meter (Piper \u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eElectrical conductivity (dS/m)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.53\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEC bridge (Jackson \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1958\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOrganic carbon (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.43\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWalkley and Black \u003cspan citationid=\"CR62\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1934\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAvailable N(kg/ha)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e258.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlkaline Permanganate Method (Subbiah and Asija\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAvailable P (kg/ha)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOlsen\u0026rsquo;s method (Jackson 2005)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAvailable K(kg/ha)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFlame photometer method (Jackson 2005)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eExperimental site and treatments particulars\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe experiment was laid out in a split-split plot design in three replications with treatment combinations of three methods of crop establishment i.e., Residue removal (RR) (M1), Residue Incorporation (RI) (M2) and Residue burning (RB) (M3) in the main plots and subplots contains the combination of three date of sowing (20th November (D1), 5th December (D2) and 20th December (D3)) along with the three different levels of nitrogen (50% Recommended dose of Nitrogen (RDN)\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;Recommended PK (N1), 75% Recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) (N2), 100% Recommended dose of Nitrogen (RDN)\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;Recommended PK (N3). The size of each sub plot was 20m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e (4m\u0026times;5m). The experiment was started in wheat season for both the years of 2018-19 and 2019-20. The required quantity of seed of HD 3086 variety was taken @100 kg ha-1 and sown by the broadcasting method as per the timing of sowing. The experiment was started in wheat season for both the years of 2018-19 and 2019-20. At sowing, half the quantity of nitrogen and the whole quantity of phosphorous and potassium according to treatment was incorporated. The remaining dose of urea was applied after the first irrigation. Urea, DAP and MOP were applied to provide nutrients in the form of NPK respectively.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe crop was irrigated 4 times depending upon rainfall occurrence. During 2018-19 first (1st ) irrigation was given 21 days after wheat sowing. Second irrigation was applied after 5th week from the first irrigation and subsequently, irrigation was given as per the need. During 2019-20 first irrigation was applied at the CRI stage and the second irrigation was applied after the 5th week and subsequent irrigation thereafter. Weeds are controlled with the help of mechanical methods viz. hand hoeing. Two hand hoeing was done to control weed population, first weeding before first irrigation to crop and second after irrigation. The crop was harvested after 140\u0026ndash;150 days with the help of sickles. One m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e area was harvested to get the biomass from the net plot size. Threshing was performed with hands and grains were separated from the spikes and dried properly at 18\u0026ndash;20% moisture level.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eGrowth attributes\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlant height was recorded from the ground surface to the top of the highest leaf on the main shoot with the help of a meter rod at 30, 60 and 90 DAS and harvesting. The average plant height of five plants was obtained and presented as the mean plant height (cm). For the assessment of tillers per plant, ten plants were randomly selected, and number of tillers were manually counted at an interval of 30 and 60 DAS.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eYield and yield attributes:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eYield attributes like spike length, number of grains per spike and weight of grain per spike were evaluated from ten randomly selected plants from each treatment. The crop from net plot area was harvested and threshed manually. The weight of grain in kg was recorded and was then converted into t/ha.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eNutrient Uptake \u0026amp; Nitrogen Harvest Index (NHI):\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe total grain N uptake was calculated by multiplying total grain yields by their respective N content. Nitrogen Harvest Index (NHI) representing the nitrogen use efficiency was estimated by Belete et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e. The formula used for calculating NHI is as follows:\u003cdiv id=\"Equa\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equa\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$NHI \\left(\\%\\right)=\\left(\\frac{N accumulated in grain}{The amount of N accumulated in grain plus straw}\\right)\\times 100$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eStatistical analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eData collected from the experiment were analyzed using three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The ANOVA was done by Fischer\u0026rsquo;s method by using OP Stat Software developed by HAU, Hisar and R studio and interpretation of results was done. The statistical significance of the experimental data was determined at 5% level of significance by using \u0026ldquo;F test\u0026rdquo; and wherever F value was found significant, critical difference (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.05) value was calculated.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results and Discussions","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003ePlant height (cm)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe data about the effect of establishing method, date of sowing and nitrogen application on plant height (cm) are presented in Table \u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e. For 30 (12.2 cm), 60 (44.2 cm), and 90 DAS (86.3 cm), a significant influence of plant height was identified in M3, while M2 showed a significant effect at harvest (93.3 cm) in 2018\u0026ndash;19. In 2019\u0026ndash;20, however, M3 was discovered to have higher plant height at 30 (11.4 cm), 60 DAS (44.6 cm), 90DAS (88.4 cm) and at harvest (93.4 cm). M1 and M3 was found to be statistically similar with each other at harvest. Netam et al in 2019 and Dahri et al. in the year 2018 also exhibited increased plant height and tiller number by residue incorporation methods. It was discovered that D1 had a significant effect on plant height in both years, demonstrating unequivocally that timely and early seeding of the wheat crop is essential to the plant's vegetative growth. A decrease in plant height in response to delayed sowing and tillage techniques was also noted (Khan et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e, Baloch et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e and Nazir et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e). Similar findings were reported by Hussain et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e where they found that maximum plant height was obtained when wheat was sown on 16th Nov and the minimum plant height was obtained under delayed sowing dates. Although hereditary factors play a major role in determining plant height, environmental factors also have an impact. This is explained by the fact that, in contrast to late sowing, a maximum period of low temperature and a brief photoperiod were available for vegetative growth to the crop sown on November 20. These results were like the findings of Singh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e, Gupta et al., 2016. From the comparison of the nitrogen doses the extra dose of Nitrogen (100% RDF) (N3) had a significant impact on plant height during the study period of two years. Sirohi et al., 2022 also suggested similar results where they observed that additional dose of nitrogen improved plant height of wheat crop.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the initial year, plant height was not significantly affected by the interaction of the three study components residue burning (M3), early/timely sowing (D1), and recommended N level (100% of RDN) from the beginning to the end of the growth phase. However, there was a significant interaction between MXD from the 30 DAS to the harvest stage and MXN at 30 DAS and harvest. On the other hand, for the second year, the three parameters under investigation together have no discernible effect on the height of the wheat plant throughout the stages. The relationship between sowing timings and methods, however, was discovered to be substantial at every stage except. for 90 DAS.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eTillers/plant\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor both 30 (26.9) and 60 (26.3) DAS, the maximum number of tillers/plant was recorded in M3 during the first year of study (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). Given the frequency of frost and extremely low minimum temperatures wheat experienced during this time, the maximum number of tillers in the RB method may be due to the tillers' rapid growth and reduced mortality because of the congenial temperature conditions created by residue burning. During the second year, M2 was discovered to be one of the strategies that was statistically significant for both 30 (24.1) and 60 (24.8) DAS. The study's second year likewise revealed the highest number of tillers in the residue inclusion, which was attributed to greater N being accessible to plants because of more residues decomposing in the soil (Alam et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA significant number of tillers/plants was observed for D1 during the study period of 2 years for both 30 DAS and 60 DAS. It was also observed that there was a decrease in trend with delay in sowing. These observations were corroborated by Alam et al., 2022 suggested that the optimum period of wheat sowing increased tillering in wheat. However, no difference in tiller count (25.6) was observed for both N3 and N2 at 30DAS for the first year of the experiment. Whereas N1 and N2 was found to receive same number of tillers at 60DAS. In the second year of the experiment, N3 was found to be significantly affecting the tiller count for both 30 (22.9) and 60 DAS (22.3). These results were in line with the findings of Sorady et al., 2022.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll the interactions observed among factors w.r.t tiller number were non-significant except MXD at 30 DAS. While significant interaction was shown between methods and N levels at 60 DAS during the year 2018-19. For the year 2019-20, the relationship among all three factors was non-significant; however, the interaction of sowing date with methods and nitrogen level was significant at 60DAS.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eYield and Yield attributes:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eEffective tillers plant\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eEffective tillers per plant observed during 2018-19 and 2019-20 were maximum under residue incorporation treatment to the tune of 20.5 and 17.7 respectively (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). For M2, the average number of effective tillers was likewise highest throughout both years, followed by residue burning (M3) and residue removal (M1). When it comes to sowing schedules, timely sowing of wheat has produced the highest effective tiller count per plant in 2018\u0026ndash;19 and 2019\u0026ndash;2020 when compared to sowing delayed by 15 and 30 days. This could be attributed to the longer vegetative phase of late-sown plants, which gives the crop more time to photosynthesize food. It is further supported by the research conducted by Alam et al., in 2013, which showed that earlier wheat sowing significantly increased tiller count, spike number, and grain production. In N3, the most effective tiller number (20.2) was seen in 2018\u0026ndash;19. For N2 and N1, the corresponding numbers were 19.1 and 18.0. A similar pattern for N levels was also noted in 2019\u0026ndash;20; the highest was 15.7, with N2, following with N3 (15.1) and N1 (15.0) respectively. Good vegetative growth may have contributed to the largest number of effective tillers produced throughout the research period at a higher nitrogen rate.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt was discovered that there was a significant interaction between the techniques and the sowing date; that is, planting crops on the first or second dates, i.e., November 20 or December 5, with residue integration, would result in the greatest number of productive tillers per plant. Additionally, for the same year, a relationship between the nitrogen (MXN) dose and crop establishment techniques was noted. A relationship between techniques and sowing schedules was noted in 2019\u0026ndash;20. Compared to late-sown plants, a prolonged vegetative period may provide the crop more time to photosynthesize food, resulting in a greater number of effective tillers. The results of Alam et al., in the year 2013, showed that timely wheat sowing significantly increased tiller count, spike number, and grain production, further support this.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEffect of wheat establishment method, date of sowing and different nitrogen levels on periodic plant height (cm) and tillers/ plant\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"13\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c11\" colnum=\"11\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c12\" colnum=\"12\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c13\" colnum=\"13\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"8\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlant height (cm)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"4\" nameend=\"c13\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo. of tillers/plant\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTreatment\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"4\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2018\u0026ndash;2019\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"4\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2019\u0026ndash;2020\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c11\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2018\u0026ndash;2019\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c13\" namest=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2019\u0026ndash;2020\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003edays after sowing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003edays after sowing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"4\" nameend=\"c13\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003edays after sowing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt harvest\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt harvest\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"9\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWheat Establishment Methods\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.0\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e42.1\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e83.4\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e89.4\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.4\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43.2\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e80.1\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e89.5\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.5\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23.1\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.7\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19.0\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.6\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34.8\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e62.3\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e93.3\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.2\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43.8\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88.4\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e93.4\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.8\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.9\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.1\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.8\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.2\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e44.2\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e86.3\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e89.2\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.4\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e44.6\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e85.7\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e89.3\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26.9\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26.3\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.5\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21.3 \u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"13\" nameend=\"c13\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDates of Sowing\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eD1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.1\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e41.8\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e78.3\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e92.9\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.5\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45.3 a\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e87.2\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e93.0 \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26.7\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.4\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23.7\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.3\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eD2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.5\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e40.3\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77.2\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e90.4\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.9\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43.6\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e84.8 a\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e90.4 \u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.2\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.3\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.5\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21.9\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eD3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.1\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39.0\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e76.4\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88.7\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.6\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e42.7 c\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e82.3\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88.7 \u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.3\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.7\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21.1\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21.0\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"13\" nameend=\"c13\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNitrogen Levels\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.1\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39.8\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e76.5\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e89.5\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.6\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43.4 b\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e82.3\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e89.5 \u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.0\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23.4\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.1\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.9 \u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.6\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e40.4\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77.5\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e90.7\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.0 a\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43.8\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e84.6\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e90.8 \u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.6\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23.9\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.4\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21.9\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.0\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e40.9\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e78.1\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e91.8\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.3 a\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e44.5 a\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e87.3\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e91.9 \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.6\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.2\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.9\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.3\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInteraction M X D X N\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSpike length (cm)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the 2018\u0026ndash;19 season, the residue removal treatment (M1) resulted in the longest spike length (10.3 cm) in wheat plants, however the differences with the other two treatments were not statistically significant. But in the second year of the trial, or 2019\u0026ndash;20, the residue incorporation method (M2) of wheat establishment achieved the longest spike length (12.1 cm), followed by M3 and M1 (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). The increase in soil organic matter content, nutrient availability, and moderation of the soil's hydrothermal regime led to improvement in yield contributing attributes (Humphreys et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Iqbal et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). Similar findings were observed by Gupta et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e. With a mean value of 10.9 \u0026amp; 11.3 cm, the timely planting date of November 20th demonstrated superiority in spike length during the 2018\u0026ndash;19 and 2019\u0026ndash;20 growing seasons than the other two sowing dates. When compared to delayed wheat sowing, the maximum spike length attained by early sowing may be the result of increased photosynthetic rate, increased assimilate production, and transfer of nutrients from source to sink as the crop receives more time for vegetative growth. When examining the impact of varying N levels on spike length, it was found that there was no discernible variation between the levels of N in 2018\u0026ndash;19; however, in 2019\u0026ndash;20, after applying 25% more N, a greater spike length was produced, which may have resulted from residue incorporation effect. These findings are consistent with those of Verma and Pandey \u003cspan citationid=\"CR61\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e, who noted that the maximum spike length in wheat crops increased with an additional NPK dose. Since N is essential for tissue development, cell division, and enhancing plant growth, increasing the dose of N fertilizer produced higher yield attributes (Singh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Sahoo et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor the years 2018\u0026ndash;19, an interaction between the method of establishment and the dose of nitrogen (MXN) was shown to be significant; however, for the years 2019\u0026ndash;20, an interaction between the method of establishment and the date of sowing (MXD) was identified.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eNumber of grains spike\u003c/b\u003e \u003csup\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/sup\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThroughout the study period, M3 (49.4 and 40.7) was determined to have the highest number of grains per spike, which was significant. Comparing M3 to the first year (2018\u0026ndash;19), a 12% decrease in grains was seen, which was comparable to incorporation and removal techniques. The lower minimum temperature during the vegetative phase, which occurs from the end of December to mid-February, and the higher maximum temperature during the grain-filling stage of the crop may be the cause of the decreased number of grains per spike for 2019\u0026ndash;20. Reduced grain number per spike due to heat stress was also mentioned (Pradhan et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e and Jaiswal et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). The first date (20 November) of the three sowing dates yielded a considerably higher number of grains (50.5 \u0026amp; 41.2) for both research years compared to the other two sowing dates. It was also reported that late seeding of wheat resulted in the lowest grain count per spike (Jaiswal et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). For both research years, it was discovered that the nitrogen dose, N3 (48.2 and 39.4), significantly affected the quantity of grains per spike. It was observed that a higher urea dosage in the first years of residue integration increased grain count in the following years (Singh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). However, their recommended amount may also have contributed to the sink due to improved source size.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGiven that for the years 2018\u0026ndash;19 and 2019\u0026ndash;20, there is considerable interaction between sowing dates and methods in terms of grains per spike. Furthermore, a relationship between the N levels and the approaches was noted for the amount of grains each spike.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eGrain Yield (t/ha)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe wheat establishment residue incorporation technique (M2) produced the highest grain yield (5.7 t ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e) during the first year of the study (2018\u0026ndash;19) (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). This approach was comparable to the grain yield of the residue removal method (M1), which was followed by the residue burning method, which produced a grain yield of roughly 5.4 t ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e. In 2019\u0026ndash;20, the M2 method produced a statistically greater yield (5.3 t ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026ndash;1)\u003c/sup\u003e, followed by the M3 and residue incorporation (M1) methods, but this yield was lower than in 2018\u0026ndash;19. Stronger nutrient availability, improved soil quality, temperature adjustments, increased soil organic matter and soil aggregate stability (Li et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e), decreased water loss and increased moisture storage due to finer texture (Choudhury et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e), and increased residue retention under NT system could all be contributing factors to the rising trend in wheat yield. Similar findings were recorded by Mirzaei et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Zahid et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR64\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e. Reducing air pollution, conserving water, suppressing weeds, increasing yield, and stabilizing crop temperature are just a few advantages of managing rice residue (Singh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). Wheat seeded early (D1) had a favourable yield impact; maximum grain yields of 5.9 and 5.5 t ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e were produced in 2018\u0026ndash;19 and 2019\u0026ndash;20, respectively, and these yields were statistically distinct from those of the other two sowing dates. According to the findings of Shah et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e, the grain yield decreased by 1% for every day that the sowing date was postponed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhile examining the third factor that influences the production of grain, namely the levels of nitrogen (N), it has been observed that an augmentation in grain yield occurred for the years 2018-19 and 2019-20, when the nitrogen dosage was increased from 50\u0026ndash;100% of the recommended amount, denoted as N3. The reason for this phenomenon could potentially be attributed to the function performed by N in augmenting the developmental growth of plants and optimizing their photosynthetic capabilities, thereby resulting in elevated levels of dry matter and yield (Zhai et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR65\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e and Belete et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). It was also reported that enhancement in the productivity of wheat and its associated attributes when subjected to appropriate increments in N (Sticksel et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR58\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e). Optimum dose of nitrogen application results in massive biomass buildup in a photosynthetic area, which in turn increased the potential grain yield (Khan et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll interactions about grain yield in the years 2018-19 and 2019-20 were determined to be statistically insignificant, with the exception being the relation between the timing of sowing and the varying levels of nitrogen. A noteworthy finding from the 2019-20 period was the presence of a significant interaction between the different methods employed and the levels of nitrogen. At a nitrogen concentration of 50%, both D1 and D2 exhibited similar performance concerning grain yield. However, as the nitrogen concentration increased to 75% and 100%, timely sown wheat outperformed D2 in terms of increasing grain yield. The act of planting on the 20th of December resulted in a delay in the production of grain yield across all nitrogen levels. It was observed that there was a decrease in grain yield of D3 by 13, 16, and 16 percent compared to D1 (which was sown on the 20th of November). The combination of a higher nitrogen dose and the incorporation of residue has been documented to result in a higher yield (Jacimovic et al., 2023 and Khatri, 2019).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEffect of wheat establishment method, date of sowing and different nitrogen levels on effective tillers/plant, spike length (cm), number of grains per spike and grain yield (t/ha) of wheat\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"9\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTreatment\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"4\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2018\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"4\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2019\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEffective tillers plant\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpike length\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(cm)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNumber of grains spike\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGrain yield\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(t/ha)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEffective tillers plant\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpike length\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(cm)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNumber of grains spike\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGrain yield\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(t/ha)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"9\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWheat Establishment Methods\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.6\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e47.2\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.7 \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.6\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.0\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37.5\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.1 \u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.5\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43.3\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.7 \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.7\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.1\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38.1\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.3 \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19.1\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e49.4\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.4 \u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.5\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.4\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e40.7\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.1 \u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"9\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDates of Sowing\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eD1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.1\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.9\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50.5\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.9 \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.7\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.3\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e41.2 \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.5 \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eD2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19.1\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.2\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e46.2\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.6 \u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.3\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.9\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39.0 \u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.3 \u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eD3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.0\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.2\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43.2\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.3 \u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.8\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.3\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e36.0 \u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.7 \u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"9\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNitrogen Levels\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.0\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45.2\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.5 \u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.0 \u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.4\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37.9 \u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.0 b\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19.1\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e46.5\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.6\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.7\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.9\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39.0 \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.2 a\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.2\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e48.2\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.7\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.1\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.2\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39.4 \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.3 a\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInteraction M X D X N\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eAvailable N (kg ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe greatest amount of N that could be used for residue incorporation in 2018\u0026ndash;19 was 257.0 kg per hectare, which was statistically greater than M3 and M1, in that order (Table\u0026nbsp;4). Even though the highest value was 255.2 kg ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e here under the same treatment, a similar trend in the available data was detected during the second year of the study 2019\u0026ndash;20. Our research findings were corroborated with the findings of Kumar et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e who also reported that addition of crop residue incorporation improved the available nitrogen status in soil. In both years, D1 (256.6 and 255.0) was found to be significantly higher than D2 (252.9 and 251.5) and D3 (250.7 and 249.7) when the dates of sowing were compared with the available N. N3 (256.2 and 253.9), obtained elevated level of available nitrogen, and was significantly higher than the other two treatments. Sanjeevaradi (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e) and Parmar and Sharma (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e) confirmed the same findings. They noticed that available N varied greatly between N levels and that high available N had higher doses of N up to 125 kg/ha. Iimprovement in available nitrogen status with residue incorporation was also observed (Cui et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Nitrogen fertilizer when applied at required rates, soil total N and available N status are increased in the surface of the soil, which also increases crop productivity and the N economy of cereal cropping systems (Wang et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR63\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Aula et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor every year of the study, the interaction between the three components was determined to be non-significant. Regarding the times and techniques of sowing, the interaction was discovered to be significant.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec18\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eGrain N uptake (kg ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eGrain uptake of nitrogen represented the yield response to the rate of nitrogen administration. A comparable pattern was seen for both research years, with M1 (96.5 and 88.0) and M2 (95.9 and 90.0) treatments being statistically similar with each other, followed by M3 (82.0 and 77.4) (Table\u0026nbsp;4). Among the various sowing dates, grain N uptake was determined to be at its maximum (98.1 and 91 kg ha-1) at D1 sowing time in the years 2018\u0026ndash;19 and 2019\u0026ndash;20, respectively. When comparing the N levels between the two years, N3 (94.5 and 88.6) was found to be significantly higher than N2 (91.3 and 84.5) and N1 (88.6 and 82.3). The pattern was consistent for both years. It was observed that applying a greater dose of N ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e to wheat resulted in increased N uptake (Hussain et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe important interactions between MXD and MXN indicate that the uptake of nitrogen by plant grains is influenced by methods used in conjunction with these factors, in addition to the effects of sowing dates and N levels alone.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec19\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eNitrogen Harvest Index (NHI %)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe ratio of nitrogen in grain to nitrogen in grain plus straw is used to compute the nitrogen harvest index. NHI is a measure of a plant's ability to use nitrogen to create grains (Boulelouah et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). A higher NHI score indicates better N utilization. It indicates the nitrogen distribution within the plant, and more especially, where the highest amounts accumulate within the plant (Folina et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Rudmin et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe residue removal method in 2018\u0026ndash;19 had a maximum NHI (%) of 77% when combined with a 100% RDN and a December 20th sowing date (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). The combination of M3D1N2 showed the largest fall from the maximum NHI value, around 17%, followed by M3D2N1 and M3D2N3. M1D2N3 showed the least change. A noticeably lower NHI% was noted for the residue-burning technique (Table\u0026nbsp;5).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA similar pattern was seen for the 2019\u0026ndash;20 year, with M1D3N3 having the highest NHI value (76.9%), M1D3N2 having the least decline from this maximum value, and the residue burning method which was used for wheat sowing on (5th December) and applied with 50% RDN exhibiting the largest decline, approximately 26.3% (Table\u0026nbsp;6, Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEffect of wheat establishment method, date of sowing and different nitrogen levels on available nitrogen (kg/ha), grain nitrogen uptake (kg/ha) and nitrogen harvest index (%) of wheat\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTreatment\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2018-19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2019-20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAvailable N (kg ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGrain N uptake (kg ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNitrogen Harvest Index (NHI %)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAvailable N (kg ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGrain N uptake (kg ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNitrogen Harvest Index (NHI %)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWheat Establishment Methods\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e249.3\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e96.5 \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e73.1\u003csup\u003eab\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e248.5 \u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88.0\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70.6\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e257.0\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95.9\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e73.4\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e255.2 \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e90.0\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e71.6\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e253.9\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e82.0\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e64.0\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e252.6 \u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77.4\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e69.5\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDates of Sowing\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eD1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e256.6 \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e98.1 \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e68.9\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e255.0 \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e91.0\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e69.3\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eD2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e252.9 \u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e91.2 \u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e69.9\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e251.5 \u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e85.0\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70.5\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eD3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e250.7 \u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e85.1 \u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e71.8\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e249.7 \u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e79.4\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e71.9\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNitrogen Levels\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e250.8 \u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88.6\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e69.5\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e250.2 \u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e82.3\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70.5\u003csup\u003eab\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e253.3 \u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e91.3\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e69.9\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e252.1 \u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e84.5\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70.1\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e256.2 \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e94.5\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e71.2\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e253.9 \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88.6\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e71.2\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInteraction M X D X N\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusions","content":"\u003cp\u003eBased on the two-year field experimentation, different crop establishment methods like crop residue incorporation under different sowing times along with nutrient management were applied to achieve optimum crop growth and to enhance grain yield and quality. It was concluded that among different wheat establishment methods, residue incorporation received maximum plant height, effective tillers, grain yield and nutrient uptake. Among the different sowing dates, maximum plant height, effective tillers, Grain yield, nutrient uptake and improvement in soil nutrient status were obtained when sowing was done on 20th November (D1). With respect to different nitrogen doses, 100% Recommended dose of nitrogen improved growth, yield as well as quality of wheat grain.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors thank the Department of Agronomy, School of Agriculture, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, for providing the necessary research facilities and technical support.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding:\u003c/strong\u003e This research received no external funding.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompliance with ethical standards\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConflict of interest:\u003c/strong\u003e The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthical issues:\u003c/strong\u003e None\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData availability:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eThe data was collected from the experiment and was compiled and analyzed.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAlam, M. 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Effect of the rate of nitrogen application on dry matter accumulation and yield formation of densely planted maize. \u003cem\u003eSustainability\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003e14\u003c/em\u003e(22), 14940.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"},{"header":"Tables","content":"\u003cp\u003eTables 4 to 6 are not available with this version.\u003c/p\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"international-journal-of-plant-production","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"ijpo","sideBox":"Learn more about [International Journal of Plant Production](https://link.springer.com/journal/42106)","snPcode":"42106","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/ijpo/default2.aspx","title":"International Journal of Plant Production","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Rice-Wheat, nitrogen, date of sowing, residue, uptake, yield, growth","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4235158/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4235158/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eA two-year field experiment was conducted at Lovely Professional University, Phagwara during the \u003cem\u003eRabi\u003c/em\u003e season of 2018\u0026ndash;2019 and 2019-20 to study the effect of crop establishment methods and sowing schedule on the growth and yield of wheat under the rice-wheat cropping system. The experiment comprised different rice residue management-based wheat establishment methods, sowing dates, and varying nitrogen levels. The results confirmed that growth, yield and yield attributes were all influenced by different crop establishment methods, sowing dates and level of nitrogen application. The results showed that maximum plant height, number of tillers per plant, number of spikes per plant, spike length, number of grains per spike and grain yield were observed under 20th November sowing (timely sowing) and with 100% RDN. Moreover, the maximum number of spikes per plant, spike length and grain yield were significantly highest for residue incorporation method of wheat establishment. Optimum time of sowing also improved the grain yield of wheat. Among the different crop establishment methods, the best attainment of available nitrogen status in soil was found in residue incorporation treatment.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Wheat Growth and Yield in the Rice -Wheat Cropping System: Impact of Crop Establishment Techniques, Sowing Schedule and Nitrogen management","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-04-22 15:29:14","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4235158/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Major revisions","date":"2024-05-28T07:47:29+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"","date":"2024-04-17T15:23:44+00:00","index":0,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2024-04-17T15:19:12+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-04-09T14:55:52+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"International Journal of Plant Production","date":"2024-04-08T04:48:58+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"international-journal-of-plant-production","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"ijpo","sideBox":"Learn more about [International Journal of Plant Production](https://link.springer.com/journal/42106)","snPcode":"42106","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/ijpo/default2.aspx","title":"International Journal of Plant Production","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"e6c5a507-061e-49d7-b00e-f4b81094cb38","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 22nd, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-07-24T15:15:53+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-4235158","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s42106-024-00303-5","journal":{"identity":"international-journal-of-plant-production","isVorOnly":false,"title":"International Journal of Plant Production"},"publishedOn":"2024-07-09 15:15:53","publishedOnDateReadable":"July 9th, 2024"},"versionCreatedAt":"2024-04-22 15:29:14","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s42106-024-00303-5","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s42106-024-00303-5","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4235158","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4235158","identity":"rs-4235158","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}