Biological efficiency of wheat blend versus pure stand

The present studies were carried out to see the biological efficiency of three wheat cultivars, namely Inqulab-91 Kharchia and Parwaz-94 at the Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad during 1999- 2000. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design and replicated thrice. The net plot size was 2.5m x 5m. The crop was sown on December 8, 1999 with the help of single row hand drill in 25 cm apart rows. Seed rate used was 150 kg ha-1. Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers were applied at the rate of 100 and 80 kg ha-1 in the form of Urea and DAP, respectively. The whole phosphorus and half of the nitrogen were applied at the time of seedbed preparation and remaining nitrogen was applied broadcast with the first irrigation. All other agronomic practices used for raising the crop were kept uniform throughout the conduct of experiment. Salient findings are given as below 1. Yield contributing factors namely number of fertile tillers (m-2), spike length, number of grains per spike and 1000 grain weight were significantly affected by different treatments. 2. Grain and straw yields were affected significantly when wheat varieties were sown either as sole or in blend form. 3. Numbers of leaves per plant were not affected significantly by any of the treatment. Similar results were observed in the plant height characteristic. 4. Number of fertile tillers was the maximum (404.7) when the three varieties i.e. Inqualb-91, Kharchia and Parwaz-94 were sown after blending in 1/3 + 1/3 + 1/3 proportion. 5. Inqulab-91 when sown as a sole crop produced, the highest number of grains per spike (44.8), 1000- grain weight (43.4 g) and the spike length (11.7 cm). 6. The increase in yield contributing factors caused significant increase in grain yield of Inqulab-91 and the maximum yield was 5.3t ha-1. 7. Grain protein concentration was statistically the same in all the treatments and ranged between 11.8% and 12.3%.