Balancing grain and fodder: A study of wheat varieties under variable inputs in semi-arid zone of Haryana, India

The study was carried out at research farm of Agronomy, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University- Hisar (Haryana), India during Rabi season of 2017-18 and 2018-19. The field experiment was conducted in Split Plot Design with 2 wheat varieties i.e. C 306 and WH 1105 taken with cut and no-cut management in main plot and two seed rates (100 kg/ha and 125 kg/ha) with 3fertilizer levels (100 %, 115 % and 130 % recommended dose of fertilizer) in sub plot with 3 replications. Results showed that significantly more protein and crude protein yield (741.15 and 691.35 kg/ha), nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) content, uptake in grain and straw, more grain yield among both varieties were recorded in no-cut plots as compared to cut-plots whereas, more available NPK in soil of WH 1105 wheat variety was observed in cut-plots as compared to no-cut plots with either seed rate throughout the experiment. Considerably higher available NPK in soil was observed in wheat sown with 130 % RDF over wheat sown with 100 % RDF with either seed rate during both the years. Higher seed rate resulted in lower NPK in soil with lower fertilizer levels. The correlation of grain yield was negative with leaf area index and test weight while with all other recorded parameters it was positively correlated. The principle components (PC1 and PC2) were worked out and asserted a very high cumulative variance of 88.44 %. Cutting wheat for fodder severely reduced growth and yield in WH 1105, even with increased seed and fertilizer levels, making it uneconomical for dual purpose. Cultivar C 306 showed reduced growth after cutting but maintained grain yield when given 115 % and 130 % RDF with recommended seed rate. C 306 is a good choice for dual-purpose, offering fodder with minimal yield penalty under higher fertilizer dose.