2008 A P P L I E D A N D N A T U R A L S C I E N C E F O U N D A T I O N ANSF JANS Journal of Applied and Natural Science 9 (1): 133 -143 (2017) Nitrogen management of wheat cultivars for higher productivity - A review Harwinder Kaur * and Hari Ram Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana -141004 (Punjab), INDIA * Corresponding author. E-mail: kaurharwinder46@yahoo.com Received: April 7, 2016; Revised received: October 25, 2016; Accepted: January 12, 2017 Abstract: The increased population pressure has led to the maximum use of chemical fertilizers especially in the major crops such as rice, wheat and maize production. India has an ever growing population needing food and also the growing urban middle class with higher standards of living is on the lookout for better quality product. The intro- duction of improved seeds increases the utility of traditional inputs and their consumption as well. Because of genet- ic variation, BVC 223, Qingnong 8, IPA99, CT 01217, Luomai 8, Seher 06, Sistan, Punjab 2011, Rasco 2005, PBW 343, Halna, HP 1744, VL Gehun 892, WH 1022, PBW 621, and PBW 550 cultivars of wheat crop differ in growth and development behaviour and respond higher to different nitrogen management practices. However, ever increas- ing prices of Nitrogen (N) fertilizers and possibilities of environmental pollution and groundwater contamination warn for their judicious and efficient use. The application of essential plant nutrients particularly N nutrient in optimum quantity (120-150 kg/ha) and right proportion (3-4 splits) through correct methods and time of application (LCC and green seeker based) is the key to increased and sustained crop production. The increase in quality due to nitrogen fertilization (120-330 kg/ha) may be due to its role in activation of cells division, metabolic and photosynthesis pro- cess and nutritive status of wheat plant. Keeping in view above all facts in mind, performance of wheat cultivars as influenced by different nitrogen rates will be discussed in this review. Keywords: Cultivars, Grain quality, Grain yield, Nitrogen levels, Wheat INTRODUCTION Wheat has to play an important role in this direction considering the vast scope of increasing productivity of this crop through constructing management of nutri- ents and yield gaps by developing newly emerging high yielding cultivars (Majumdar et al., 2012) represented in Table 1. Because of genetic variation, different cultivars of crop may differ in growth and development behavior and response to different management practices. Taller cultivars are generally less responsive to fertilizer application and give lesser yields than the dwarf cultivars. As cultivars vary widely, nitrogen has got differential response (Singh et al., 2010). The cultivars have been found to differ in their efficiency to accu- mulate dry matter and yield attributing characters. The development of semi-dwarf wheat cultivars which resist lodging more than conventional taller cultivars have improved wheat yields by allowing greater efficient use of N fertilizer. In Punjab, Mahajan and Nagarajan, (2005) reported that two hybrids HM 9846 and HM 9837 were significantly superior in grain yield to the best check PBW 343. Among various agronomic manipulations, application of nitrogen is one of the important factors which influ- ence the grain yield and the quality of wheat. Plants take up most of their nitrogen as the ammonium ISSN : 0974-9411 (Print), 2231-5209 (Online) All Rights Reserved © Applied and Natural Science Foundation www.jans.ansfoundation.org (NH 4 + ) or nitrate (NO 3 - ) form. Nitrogen is necessary for chlorophyll synthesis as a part of the chlorophyll molecule, involved in photosynthesis and constituent of all amino acids and protein which are considered responsible for quality of wheat. Nitrogen application rate and timing are very important for yield and quality of wheat. The yield responses of different cultivars vary widely under different nitrogen management. But nitrogen is one of the most important and expensive input in wheat cultivation. However, ever increasing prices of N fertilizers and possibilities of environmen- tal pollution and groundwater contamination, warn for their judicious and efficient use. Therefore, it is im- portant to understand fertilizers use behaviour in the country over time as well as role of factors influencing fertilizer consumption at the national and regional/state level because intensity of fertilizer use varies from state to state and area to area. Technological factors such as high yielding cultivars, irrigation, cropping intensity and agricultural prices had positive impact on nitrogen fertilizer consumption. Availability of capital also caused nitrogen consumption positively. Price of fertilizer had a significant negative impact on nitrogen fertilizer use. Non-price factors namely, irrigation and cropping intensity, were more powerful in influencing N consumption compared with price factors. Price of N fertilizers was the third important determinant of fertilizer demand. Between, input price and price of