Yield Attributes and Yield of Wheat Affected by Irrigation Schedules and Varieties under HAT Zone Conditions of Andhra Pradesh, India

Aims: A field experiment was conducted to assess the impact of various irrigation schedules and wheat varieties on yield characteristics and yield of wheat in Andhra Pradesh's high altitude and tribal area (HAT) zone.

Study Design: Split-plot design was used to conduct the research experiment.

Place and Duration of Study: Regional Agricultural Research Station, Chintapalle, Visakhapatnam, ANGRAU, Andhra Pradesh. The study was conducted during Rabi season 2021-22.

Methodology: Split-plot design was used to conduct the experiment in which as main plots, there were three irrigation schedules—irrigation at CRI, maximum tillering, jointing, flowering, and milking stages (M1); irrigation at CRI, flowering, and milking stages (M2); and irrigation at CRI and milking stages (M3)—and four varieties—DBW-252(V1), HI-1544(V2), HI-8759(V3), and HI-8713(V4)—as subplots. The parameters of Spike length, Spike weight, number of productive tillers m-2, number of grains spike-1, number of filled grains spike-1, 1000 grain weight, grain yield, straw yield, biological yield, and harvest index were found to be superior with five irrigations scheduled at CRI, maximum tillering, jointing, flowering, and milking stages. Among the varieties, HI-8759 recorded the highest values, which were comparable to HI-8713.

Results: Spike length, spike weight, no. of productive tillers m-2, no. of grains spike-1, no. of filled grains spike-1, 1000 grain weight found superior with five irrigations schedules. The highest values among the variations were achieved by HI-8759 and were comparable to HI-8713.The five irrigation schedule resulted in higher grain and straw yields. Despite the fact that there was a reduced grain yield with two irrigations, the straw yield was statistically equal with three irrigations. With five irrigations, the harvest index (%) was much higher, while with two irrigations, it was significantly lower. However, HI-8759 had a much greater grain and straw production than the other cultivars. The straw yield remained at HI-8713 levels. The HI-8759's harvest index outperformed all other kinds by a wide margin. With HI-1544, the lowest grain and straw yields were noted.

Conclusion: Wheat yield was dramatically increased by five different irrigation regimens applied at various phenological phases. The maximum yield was recorded by variety HI-8759, which was comparable to variety HI-8713 in terms of biological and straw yields.