Increasing resource-use efficiency is of prime importance in sustainable agriculture. A field study was carried out to improve nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) and radiation-use efficiency (RUE) of three C4 summer cereals, . maize, millet, and sorghum, under an irrigated arid environment. | Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry Research Article Turk J Agric For (2016) 40: 280-289 © TÜBİTAK doi: Improving nitrogen-use and radiation-use efficiencies of C4 summer cereals by split nitrogen applications under an irrigated arid environment 1 1 1 1 1 1 Shakeel AHMAD , Hakoomat ALI , Umair FAROOQ , Shahzad Usman KHAN , Atique-ur REHMAN , Naeem SARWAR , 1 2, 1 1 1 Ahmad Naeem SHAHZAD , Hülya DOĞAN *, Shabbir HUSSAIN , Muhammad Tauseef SULTAN , Abdul WAHEED , 3 4 5 Muhammad ZIA-UL-HAQ , Khadim HUSSAIN , Muhammad Azam KHAN 1 Department of Agronomy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan 2 Department of Seed Science, Vocational School, Bozok University, Yozgat, Turkey 3 The Patent Office Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan 4 Maize & Millet Research Institute, Yousaf Wala, Sahiwal, Pakistan 5 Executive District Office - Agriculture, Chiniot, Punjab, Pakistan Received: Accepted/Published Online: Final Version: Abstract: Increasing resource-use efficiency is of prime importance in sustainable agriculture. A field study was carried out to improve nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) and radiation-use efficiency (RUE) of three C4 summer cereals, . maize, millet, and sorghum, under an irrigated arid environment. The results showed that among various cultivars of cereals, cultivars Pearl (maize), 18 BY (millet), and Jumbo (sorghum) produced the highest aboveground total dry matters and grain yields. The highest NUE and RUE were obtained by splitting the nitrogen dose 3 times, . at sowing and at first and second irrigation. The NUE for maize, millet, and sorghum varied from to , to , and to kg kg–1, respectively. RUE ranged from to , to , and to g MJ–1 for maize, millet, and sorghum crops, respectively. Maximum resource-use efficiency was achieved by 3 splits, while the minimum was obtained in the .
