F. Azam
Rhizobiology Laboratory, Soil Biology Division,
Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology, Faisalabad, Pakistan
A. Lodhi
Rhizobiology Laboratory, Soil Biology Division,
Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology, Faisalabad, Pakistan
ABSTRACT
Interactive effect of inorganic fertilizer and sewage sludge on nitrogen nutrition and growth of wheat was studied. Nitrogen was applied as 15N-labelled (NH4)2SO4 at 0, 50 , 150, and 300 mg pot1 in all possible combinations with 0, 16, 24, 32, and 64 g pot1sewage sludge (SS). Fertilizer N had no significant effect on the dry weight of roots. The above-ground plant components responded positively to the application of both fertilizer N and SS. The positive effect increased with the rate of application. In absence of SS, grain yield increased from 4.8 g pot1 in the control to 10.6 g pot1 at the highest level of fertilizer N. Likewise, the increase in grain yield due to different treatments ranged between 97 and 233% as compared to 23.3 and 82.5% recorded for straw component. The trends in N content of different plant components were fairly similar to those observed for dry matter yield and a significant correlation was observed between two parameters. Combination of both treatments at highest rate resulted in 127% increase in the total N yield of the plants. The contribution of N fertilizer to the total N content of the whole plant and its components remained fairly low and ranged between 11 and 45% in different treatments. The percent fertilizer N uptake (%FNU) varied from 22.6% at the highest level of application in the absence of sludge to 79.4% at the lowest level of application and in the presence of highest amount of SS. Fertilizer N uptake increased with the amount of SS; the extent of increase being more at the lower level of fertilizer N. Application of SS significantly improved the amount of unlabeled N determined in plants, with maximum effect being observed at the highest level of application. A part of this increase was due to N uptake from SS itself, while a substantial amount could be derived from the soil organic matter.
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How to cite this article
F. Azam and A. Lodhi, 2001. Response of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to Application of Nitrogenous Fertilizer and Sewage Sludge. Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences, 4: 1083-1086.
DOI: 10.3923/pjbs.2001.1083.1086
URL: https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=pjbs.2001.1083.1086
DOI: 10.3923/pjbs.2001.1083.1086
URL: https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=pjbs.2001.1083.1086
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