Foliar urea and nano urea applications: impacts on growth, chlorophyll content, yield attributes and economics of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Wheat, a vital staple cereal crop feeding a large share of the global population, requires efficient nutrient management; however, limited comparative research has evaluated the physiological, agronomic and economic impacts of foliar-applied conventional urea and nano urea under field conditions. To address this issue, a study was conducted during the rabi season of 2023-2024 at the Instructional Farm, Post Graduate Institute, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, with a view to study the “Response of foliar application of urea and nano urea on yield and nutrient uptake of wheat under irrigated condition”. The experiment was conducted in randomized block design and treatments were consisted of 12 levels of nutrient combination with 3 replications. The application of the general recommended dose of fertilizers (GRDF) at 120:60:40 kg N:P₂O₅:K₂O with 10 tons of farmyard manure (FYM) per hectare yielded the most beneficial results for the wheat crop. This treatment resulted in the highest significant values for plant population, chlorophyll content, and yield contributing characters, including the length of the ear, number of spikelets and grains per ear, and grain weight. Economically, the GRDF treatment also provided the highest gross monetary returns (113,955 ₹ ha^-1), net monetary returns (64,801 ₹ ha^-1), and B-C ratio of 2.32. However, the study concluded that treatments involving 75% of the recommended nitrogen dose applied to the soil, combined with a 4% or 6% foliar spray of urea, performed on par with the GRDF treatment. This suggests a potential to save 25% of the nitrogen fertilizer for wheat while achieving comparable results.