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Among various agronomic practices, the balanced use of fertilizers is important to get maximum economic yields. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the economically optimum nutrient requirement for producing higher yields of non- Basmati varieties of rice. To achieve these objectives, experiments were conducted at 14 sites at farmers' fields from 2016 to 2020. The levels of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potash (K) were N (0, 87,174, 261), P2O5 (0, 52, 104, 156) and K2O (0, 40, 80,120) kilogram per hectare respectively arranged in central treatment design with eleven treatments. Experiments were designed and conducted in the field under randomized complete block. Maximum paddy yield (6,223 kg ha) was obtained with 174-156-80 kg ha-1 on an overall basis. However, the maximum benefit cost ratio was observed with 174-0-80 kg ha-1 with a lower yield level. Marginal rate of return was higher for nutrient N due to its lower price but higher for P and K nutrients due to their higher prices. Based on the results, 174-156-80 kg ha-1 of N-P2O5-K2O may be used by farmers seeking maximum incomes whereas 174-104-0 may be used by farmers seeking maximum cost benefit ratio, however, total income of farmers in this case may be lower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With changing climate and introduction of new varieties over time, it is imperative to revisit the nitrogen fertilizer dose for optimum rice yields. Increasing prices of N has also necessitated the calculation of economics of N use. To achieve these objectives, a number of field studies were conducted on fine rice to determine its response to increasing nitrogen doses in Rice-Wheat and Central zones of Punjab Pakistan for four years from 2017 to 2020. During the first two years of study (2017 and 2018), seven doses of N (0, 28, 56, 84, 112, 140, 168 kg ha-1) were tested at different locations. Half of nitrogen was applied to soil at transplanting and remaining half was applied about 30 to 35 days after transplanting. Phosphorus and potash were applied to soil at transplanting uniformly @ 90 and 60 kg ha-1 to all treatments except the check (No fertilizer). Increasing nitrogen levels upto 140 kg ha-1, a significant increase in paddy yield was observed. However, further increase in N level did not result in any increase in yield; rather it decreased paddy yield. Agronomic efficiency and partial factor productivity of N decreased with increasing doses of N and it was reduced to 9.3 and 30 respectively at N level of 140 and 168 kg ha-1. Economic analysis of N use on fine rice showed decreasing marginal rate of return (MRR) with increasing doses on N and it was 5.0 and 2.5 respectively for Rice-Wheat and Central zones at 140 kg N ha-1. Above this level of N, the MRR became negative. Therefore, it was concluded that soil application of 140 kg N ha-1 was the most optimum dose for obtaining an economic yield for current scenario for fine varieties of rice. The outcome of this study will help formulating nitrogen fertilizer recommendation of fine rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Balanced use of fertilizer is important to achieve optimum yields of wheat. Present study was conducted at farmers' fields in Rice-Wheat and Central mixed cropping zones of Punjab Pakistan for four years from 2019-20 to 2022-23. The objectives of the study were to determine economic optimum dose of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash nutrients for obtaining optimum wheat yields under irrigated conditions. The levels of N used in this study were (0, 53, 106, 160 and 212), for P2O5 were (0, 57, 114 and 171) and for K2O were (0, 30, 60) kg ha-1 of nutrients. These levels were incorporated in 11 treatments combination according to FAO central rotatory design. All P and K were applied at sowing whereas half N was applied at sowing and remaining N was top dressed at first irrigation. Results of 56 field trials conducted in these two zones indicated that 160 and 114 kilograms of N and P2O5 respectively per hectare proved economical doses for getting highest wheat grain yield in both these cropping zones. However, for K2O, the economical doses were 30 and 60 kg ha-1 for central and rice zones respectively. The study will help revisiting the current fertilizer recommendations. More experimentation is needed to go for imparting sitespecific nutrient recommendations for economical crop production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant increase in food production, approximately 70%, is needed to feed the estimated 9.1 billion world population by 2050. Site-specific nutrient management through adoption of Precision Agriculture (PA) technologies can potentially increase crop productivity while keeping the use of chemical fertilizers at its minimum required level. In this study, agricultural land of tehsil Chunian was delineated into management zones using georeferenced soil attributes database developed by Soil Fertility Research Institute (SFRI), Punjab. Appropriate number of zones was determined after conducting fuzzy c -means unsupervised clustering analysis by using Management Zone Analyst (MZA) software and finally Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS) was used to differentiate study area into five zones. Analysis of variance was performed to verify whether these defined zones reflect soil attributes. We concluded that tehsil Chunian could be categorized into five statistically different management zones based on soil electrical conductivity (EC), pH, soil organic matter (SOM), available potassium and available phosphorus levels. The highest crop yield was predicted in southeastern parts of tehsil Chunian represented by management zone-2 (4.4 t ha-1) followed by zone-1 (4.3 t ha-1). Whereas, northern and northwest areas were predicted with decreasing trend of wheat yield (zone-5, 3.7 t ha-1; zone-4, 4.0 t ha-1), respectively. We found that MZA and QGIS software could be used as supportive tools for making informed-decisions and the database of soil attributes developed by SFRI would serve as primary source of information for adoption of PA technology in coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]