Optimizing Wheat Growth and Yield: The Synergistic Effects of Nitrogen and Silicon Levels

Abstract

Enhancing wheat production is essential to meet global food security needs, especially in sustainable agriculture. Among nutrient management practices, Nitrogen (N) and Silicon (Si) are known to improve growth and stress resilience in crops. However, while the individual effects of N and Si on crop performance are well-documented, limited research has explored their combined influence on wheat growth and yield. This study aimed to address this gap by evaluating the synergistic effects of N and Si fertilizer levels on wheat agronomic performance. A field experiment was conducted at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, from November 2022 to March 2023. The experiment utilized wheat variety BWMRI 3 in a two-factor Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Treatments consisted of four N levels (0, 80, 120, and 160 kg N ha-1) and four Si levels (0, 100, 150, and 200 kg Si ha-1). Statistical analyses using R programming revealed that the combination of 120 kg N ha-1 and 150 kg Si ha-1 (N2:S2) resulted in the highest growth and yield performance, including a 48.32% increase in tiller number, 33.63% improvement in effective spikelets, 12.97% increase in 1000-grain weight, 34.54% rise in grain yield, and a 15.88% increase in biological yield compared to the control (without N and Si). The findings indicate that the combined application of 120 kg N ha-1 and 150 kg Si ha-1 significantly enhanced wheat growth and yield, suggesting that integrating these nutrient management practices is an effective strategy for optimizing wheat production, ultimately contributing to both higher yields and sustainable agriculture.