A field study was conducted during 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 at Central Cotton Research Institute, Multan, Pakistan, on silt loam soils to evaluate the effect of irrigation at different growth stages and phosphorus application methods on agronomic traits of wheat. The field experiments were laid out in a split plot design with three replications. The irrigation treatments, i.e. control - no irrigation (I 1), two irrigations at crown root and booting stage (I 2), three irrigations at crown root, booting and grain development (I 3), four irrigations at crown root, booting, anthesis and grain development (I 4) and five irrigations at crown root, booting, earing, anthesis and grain development (I 5) were kept in main plots. The subplots were allocated to three phosphorus application methods viz. side dressed, 3 inches aside seed (I 1), broadcasting at the time of seedbed preparation (P 2), and top dressing after first irrigation (P 3). Data on yield components such as tiller number m -2, spikelet number spike -1, number of grains spike -1and 1000-grain weight as well as grain and total dry matter (TDM) yields were collected. Full irrigation (I 4, I 5) treatments significantly affected yield and yield components. A reduction in all studied characters of wheat crop was subjected to water stress at low or greater degree (e.g. I 1, I 2, and I 3). Phosphorus application as side dressed (P 1), 3 inches aside seed, was more beneficial for increasing yield and yield components of wheat compared to other methods of P application.
