Effect of Salix spp. Spacing on the Growth and Yield of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under Shallow Water Table Conditions

The field experiment was conducted to study the effect of Salix alba spacing on the growth and yield of wheat under shallow water conditions. Two clones of Salix alba (Salix alba cv. coerulea and Salix alba cv. vitellina), planted four years earlier at four different spacing of 4 m × 5 m, 6 m × 5 m, 8 m × 5 m and 10 m × 5 m, one treatment being control i.e., without any tree, were tried in split plot design with three replications. Wheat variety PBW 343 was sown in between the rows of Salix trees. Almost all plant characters like germination, plant height, number of tillers, spike length, number of fertile spikelets, number of sterile spikelets, grains per spike, 1000-grain weight, grain yield and above ground biological yield were found statistically at par due to tree clone. However, the treatments having lesser tree population were significantly superior over the treatments having greater tree population in all the growth and yield attributing parameters. The highest grain yield (3898 kg/ha) was obtained from the treatment having no trees followed by the treatment having tree spacing of 10 m × 5 m (3533 kg/ha) and 8 m × 5 m (3533 kg/ha). The lowest grain yield (3161 kg/ha) was obtained from the treatment having tree spacing of 4 m × 5 m. Tree height and tree diameter at breast height (DBH) taken before and after wheat crop were also found non-significant due to Salix clones and Salix spacing.