FOLIAR APPLIED THIOUREA AT DIFFERENT GROWTH STAGES MODULATED LATE SOWN WHEAT

Abstract

Late sowing is a common problem of wheat in rice-wheat and cotton wheat cropping systems of Pakistan. The exogenous application of thiourea, due to its distinct properties, may potentially reduce the harmful effects on late sown wheat. A field study was conducted to estimate the potential of thiourea for enhancing the performance of late sown wheat. Wheat cultivar, Glaxy 2013 was sown in mid-December, 2014-15 and two foliar treatments i.e. 300 and 600 mg/L of thiourea solutions applied at different developmental stages i.e. tillering, jointing and booting, while, water spray and no spray were considered as double control. Growth characteristics of wheat were significantly enhanced with the foliar application of thiourea at tillering stage @ 300 mg/L. Likely, yield contributing traits as number of productive tillers, number of grains per spike, 1000-grain weight and grain yield were considerably improved by the application of 300 mg/L of thiourea at tillering stage. It was concluded that at tillering stage the application of thiourea (at 300 mg/L) was highly effective in improving the growth and yield of late sown wheat.