IMPACT OF POTASSIUM POLYACRYLATE ON UREA FERTILIZER SUSTAINABILITY AND WHEAT YIELD

This study investigated the effect of potassium polyacrylate on the sustainability of urea fertilizer applied at different growth stages and its subsequent impact on wheat yield. The experiment was conducted in 5 kg pots using a design RCBD with three replicates during the 2024-2025. The first factor comprised three urea application timings (AS): AS1: 33% at emergence + 33% at tillering + 34% at elongation. AS2: 25% at emergence + 25% at tillering + 25% at elongation + 25% at booting. AS3: 20% at emergence + 20% at tillering + 20% at elongation + 20% at booting + 20% at emergency inflorescence. The second factor included four concentrations of potassium polyacrylate (Po): Po1: 0 kg ha⁻¹, Po2: 25 kg ha⁻¹, Po3: 50 kg ha⁻¹, Po4: 75 kg ha⁻¹. The urea application timing AS2 and 50 kg ha⁻¹ concentration (Po3) outperformed other treatments in most studied traits, including plant height (105.83-109.00 cm), chlorophyll content (0.757-0.753), flag leaf area (53.04-59.40 cm²), number of tillers (438.0-418.9 tillers m⁻²), number of grains per spike (66.92-69.00 grains spike⁻¹), and grain yield (7.425-7.154 tons ha⁻¹). The interaction treatment AS2Po3 recorded the top mean grain yield of 7.767 tons ha⁻¹, which did not significantly differ from AS2Po4, AS1Po3, AS1Po4, and AS2Po2 (7.733, 7.500, 7.400, 7.333 tons ha⁻¹). These findings underscore the critical role of potassium polyacrylate in enhancing water absorption and preserving general nutrients, particularly urea (as a nitrogen source).