Abstract
Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) is a well-known approach to quantify the nutrient balance for the
determination of crop yield and quality. The DRIS interprets leaf analysis values on the basis of interrelationships among
nutrients, rather than nutrient concentration. This approach is based on the comparison of crop nutrient ratios with optimum
values from a high yielding group (DRIS norms). There are controversies regarding use of DRIS norms. Different
researchers argue that the DRIS norms developed within one region can also be used for another, while others recommend
developing local norms. We conducted a study to evaluate the local DRIS norms for wheat, involving Hyderabad district of
Sindh province of Pakistan which is a famous wheat-belt. The objectives of this study were to develop the DRIS norms for
Hyderabad district and to compare these norms with the available literature for clarifying the universality of DRIS norms of
wheat. One hundred eighty one wheat fields from the whole wheat-belt of the study area were selected on the basis of a
survey of wheat-growing areas for two consecutive seasons (2007-08 and 2008-09). Plant sampling of wheat was done for
shoot material at GS-29 and for leaf tissue at GS-39 to diagnose the concentration of various nutrients. The study revealed
that the DRIS norms for developmental stages GS-29 and GS-39 varied only slightly. Often, slightly higher values can be
observed in leaf tissue than for shoot material. However, these differences were non-significant (p=0.05). The study
concluded that the DRIS norms for wheat were found same for the development stages GS-29 and GS-39.
