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In the absence of accurate and rapid N testing methods, many growers currently apply N fertilizer in excess rather than risk of yield reduction through N deficiency. Crop growth and crop need for supplemental N can be strongly influenced by crop-growing conditions, crop and soil management, and climate, which can vary greatly among fields, villages, seasons and years. The current recommendation of fixed-time split N application at specified growth stages is not adequate to synchronize N supply with actual crop N demand because of poorly designed N splitting and variations in crop N demand and indigenous soil N supply. One of the emerging technologies is the determination of the plant for N status in combination with soil testing. The premise is that the plant may be a better indicator of actual N status than inference from soil test. Therefore, the predictive recommendations need to be adapted to the crop N status. Leaf colour chart (LCC) is the promising tool developed by IRRI in recent years for need-based N management in rice crop. The present study deals with validation of LCC for real time N fertilization in wheat.

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Miss Kinjal D. Gajera is Research Fellowat Department of Agronomy, College ofAgriculture, Junagadh Agricultural University,Junagadh (Gujarat, India). She did M.Sc. (Agri.) in Agronomy with Distinction in 2013 under the guidance of Dr. R.K. Mathukia, Associate Research Scientist.

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