Improved Bread and Durum Wheat Cultivars Showed Contrasting Performances in N-Efficiency and N-Responsiveness

Abstract

Wheat productivity can be increased by applying nitrogen (N) in the form of chemical fertilizers. However, owning to the high prices, chemical fertilizers are unaffordable to resource-poor farmers in Ethiopia. The use of N-efficient cultivars rather makes an alternative option for sustainable wheat production. Six bread and six durum wheat cultivars were thus evaluated under low N (1 g·pot−1) and optimum N (5 g·pot−1) in six replications. The pot-based treatments were arranged in randomized complete block design in the lathe house at Kulumsa Agricultural Research Center. Results showed that the number of effective tillers (NET), spike length (SL), total dry biomass yield (TBY), grain yield (GY), NDVI values, total N uptake (TNUP), N utilization efficiency (NUtE), N uptake efficiency (NUpE), N use efficiency (NUE), grain, and straw N uptakes were significantly influenced by wheat cultivars and N levels. Under low N, Hidase and Kingbird gave significantly higher GY, whereas Danda’a and Hidase gave significantly higher GY under optimum N. Under low N, Hidase, Kingbird, and Lemu were identified as the most N-efficient, while Ude, Landrace, and Utuba identified as N-inefficient based on multicriterion performance (GY, TBY, SL, NET, TNUP, NHI, NUpE, NUtE, and NUE). Under optimum N, Danda’a, Shorima, Hidase, and Lemu were identified as the most responsive, while Ude, Landrace, and Kingbird identified as nonresponsive to N application. In conclusion, Kingbird is recommended for low N input, while Danda’a and Shorima are recommended for N input intensive, and Hidase and Lemu are recommended for both low and high N input intensive wheat production.