Enhancing yield and quality of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) using sprayer and drone-assisted nano-NPK application with improved crop establishment techniques

This study evaluated different crop establishment methods (CEM) and nutrient management (NM) strategies involving foliar application of nano-NPK through drone and knapsack sprayer in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The experiment was conducted at Lovely Professional University, Punjab, in collaboration with D2F Services Private Limited. The experiment was laid out in a factorial randomized block design (FRBD) using two factors, CEM and NM during the Rabi seasons of 2023 and 2024. Crop establishment methods included furrow irrigated raised bed (FIRB) and the drilling method, while nutrient management comprised eight possible combinations of recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF; ranging from 50 %-100 %), farmyard manure (FYM) and foliar application of nano nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK). The result indicated that among the crop establishment methods, FIRB had a statistically significant (p <0.05) impact on yield attributes, yield and quality parameters as compared to the drilling method. On the other hand, among the nutrient management, treatment N6, which comprises 75 % RDF + one spray of drone-based nano NPK, was observed as the most effective and statistically significant at (p <0.05) compared to the rest of the treatments for plant height (cm), total number of tillers m-2, productive tillers m-2, spike length (cm), number of spikes plant-1, number of spikelet spikes-1, number of grains spike-1, test weight (g) and grain yield (q ha-1), protein content and gluten content (%). The correlation analysis of grain yield (q ha-1) vs. effective tillers m-2 (r2 = 0.981), number of spikes plant-1, test weight (g) and gluten content (%) shows a positive relationship among them. These findings suggest that drone-assisted nano-NPK application and improved crop establishment techniques can effectively enhance the yield and quality of wheat.