INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT RATES OF PHOSPHORUS ON GROWTH, YIELD AND PHOSPHORUS USE EFFICIENCY IN TWO WHEAT CULTIVARS

To study the influence of different rates of phosphorus (P) on growth and yield of wheat, experiments were conducted at NIAB, Faisalabad, Pakistan under natural conditions. Results indicated that the P requirement of wheat at early growth was higher and adequate available P in the growth medium helped to attain relatively higher growth rate and resulted in higher grain yield. The two wheat cultivars when subjected to different rates of P application showed that the cultivar 'MH-97' was more responsive than 'Pasban-90' that attributed to its higher P translocation efficiency from roots to tops. The two cultivars also showed differential yield response when grown under field condition. At optimum nitrogen (N): P ratio of 1.5:1, the cultivar 'MH-97' gave 31.5% while cultivar 'Pasban-90' gave a maximum response of 25.9% over their respective N alone application. Contrarily, at the wider NP ratio of 3:1, yield response of cultivar 'MH-97' was 26.5% while that of cultivar 'Pasban-90' was only to the extent of 2.2%, thereby indicating a much wider difference in their yield response pattern. Thus, choosing an appropriate cultivar for a particular rate of fertilizer application would be more rewarding in terms of yield and profitability.