NUTRIENT COMPOSITION OF WHEAT GRAIN WITH FERTILIZATION AND CUTTING TIMINGS

The vital economic and nutritional contributions of wheat to both human and livestock diets are universally acknowledged. Dual purposes of wheat crop are responsible for improving grain productivity, nutrient content and provide green fodder in winter due to the shortages of animal feed. In recent years, cutting stages after sowing have emerged as a promising strategy for wheat cultivation to mitigate post-harvest losses. To investigate this approach, a trial was conducted during the 2022-2023 winter season at the Soil Fertility Research Institute Tandojam experimental field. The study comprised four treatments: T1 No cutting, T2 Cutting at 35 days after sowing (DAS), T3 Cutting at 65 DAS, T4 Cutting at 75 DAS. The experiment followed a statistical design (RCBD) Randomized Complete Block Design and replicate with four times. The data showed that the highest plant height, grain weight, and grain productivity were achieved in T2 (cutting at 35 DAS). However, the wheat grain composition such as N, P, K, Fe, Zn, and protein content were observed maximum values in T2 (cutting at 35 DAS). Minimum values were found at the treatment T4 (Cutting 75 DAS) except for plant height. Maximum height was recorded in the control plot (T1). The findings of the study suggested that there is a positive effect of early cutting schedule (35 DAS) in enhancing productivity and other components and further, noticed that lack of cutting plot showed similar grain productivity, 1000-grain weight and highest plant height. Additionally, cutting at 35 DAS enhances nutrient content in grain, statistically similar results to control plot, reduces lodging risk standards for domestic and export purposes. Hence, in timing of wheat cutting with balanced nutrition NPK is crucial to get higher nutritional values and simultaneously could minimize the lodging risk in the crop.