Split application of neem-coated urea improved wheat growth, productivity, and economic returns in semi-arid conditions

The current study examined the influence of various N sources viz. common-urea, Zn-coated urea, neem-coated urea, and polymer-coated urea and N application methods viz., basal- and split-application on the growth, physiological, yield and related traits and economic return in wheat under field. Results showed that N sources and application methods significantly affected the growth, physiological and yield- and yield-related traits when applied as a split application, followed by Zn-coated, polymer-coated, and common urea. Neem-coated urea increased chlorophyll (Chl) a, Chl b, total Chl, and carotenoid contents by 382.85, 401.88, 164.25, and 78.57% under basal application while 558.82, 283.62, 939.42, and 94.11% under split application. Moreover, neem-coated urea also depicted higher biological and grain yields than other treatments which were associated with higher values of yield-related traits including the number of productive tillers, number of spikelets, and number of grains per spike. For economic returns, neem-coated urea also depicted a higher benefit-cost ratio. For N application methods, split application significantly improved the plant height, chlorophyll pigments contents, yield- and yield-related traits and BCR. In conclusion, neem-coated urea application as a split application performed well followed by Zn-coated and polymer-coated urea in improving the yield and overall economic return.