Evaluating Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Growth and Yield Response to Varying Levels of Soil Applied Boron

Boron (B) has been considered essential for sustainable wheat production. We conducted a field study in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) involving three repeats and five treatments of B fertilizer. The treatments included 0 (control), 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 kg B ha-1. The findings showed that all studied parameters were substantially influenced by varying application rates of B fertilizer. The application of B at the highest dose (4.0 kg ha-1) achieved the maximum increase in all studied parameters over control with 59.3 cm plant height (3.1%), 390 number of tillers m-2 (7.7%) 12.0 cm spike length (7.1%), 21.0 number of spikelets spike-1 (9.9%), 39.8 number of grains spike-1 (9.9%), 47.2 g weight of 1000 grains (3.7%), 11827 kg ha-1 biological yield (24.8%), 6827 kg ha-1 grain yield (49.1%) and 57.7% harvest index (19.4%). While control (no boron) treatment produced minimum plant height (57.5 cm), number of tillers m-2 (362), spike length (11.2 cm), number of spikelets spike-1 (19.1), number of grains spike-1 (36.2), weight of 1000 grains (45.5 g), biological yield (9479 kg ha-1), grain yield (4579 kg ha-1) and harvest index (48.3%). We conclude that growth and yield parameters of wheat crop responded linearly in relation to increasing levels of B fertilizer application. It can be suggested to apply B at 4.0 kg ha-1 for sustainable wheat production, particularly under B deficient environments.