the Symposium on Wheats for More Tropical Environments - cimmyt

Authorities involved in wheatproduction. Generally. <strong>the</strong> areas ofresearch given priority include watermanagement and fertilizer use.Water maaagemeatThe successful production of wheat.especially in a semi-arid. tropicalenvironment like nor<strong>the</strong>rn Nigeria. isdependent on a judicious irrigationprogram. based on knowledge of <strong>the</strong>effect of soil moisture stress on <strong>the</strong>crop. When water constitutes <strong>the</strong>limiting resource. research efforts mustbe directed towards:• Finding <strong>the</strong> best scheduling method.quantity and time of irrigation for<strong>the</strong> wheat crop;• Investigating <strong>the</strong> effect of variablewater stress on late-planted wheat.since <strong>the</strong> effect of stress can varyaccording to <strong>the</strong> maturity of <strong>the</strong>variety and time of seeding, and• Discovering <strong>the</strong> effect of fertilizationon water-use efficiency of wheat.Fertilizer useFrom a report submitted by acommittee that reviewed research workon fert1l1zer use in irrigated agriculture,<strong>the</strong> follOWing research areas are beinggiven priority in relation to wheatfertilization:• Potassium requirements of wheatunder different irrigation regimes,and• Micronutrient requirements of wheat.ConclusionsNigeria's current annual wheatrequirements are in excess of 1.5m1llion tons annually. Present localproduction is about 40,000 tons. whichis equivalent to about 2.6% of <strong>the</strong>nation's needs. Increased production isthus a challenge for both <strong>the</strong>government and <strong>the</strong> farmer.The government should accelerate <strong>the</strong>expansion of projected irrigationschemes, and ensure timely landpreparation and provision of inputs tofarmers. Research work in progress onefficient water management, fertilizeruse and o<strong>the</strong>r suitable productiontechnologies should be adquatelyfunded, as <strong>the</strong>se w1ll help increasewheat production per unit area. It isestimated that, with efficient watermanagement and good cropmanagement practices coupled withfarmer experience in wheat cultivation,crop yields could exceed 4 tlha. In thiscase, <strong>the</strong> government wheat productiontarget of 700,000 tons per annum couldbe realized by <strong>the</strong> year 1990.• Interaction of phosphorus with o<strong>the</strong>rmajor nutrients and with irrigationfrequency;• Phosphorus availab1l1ty/fixation inwheat under intensive. irrigatedagriculture;