Investigating water use efficiency and wheat growth characteristics as influenced by soil and foliar application of Zargreen organic fertilizer under drought conditions

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associated Prof. Department of Range and Watershed Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Fasa University, Fasa, Iran

2 Department of Soil Science, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz

3 Innovation Center of Zarnam Educators Research Industrial Group, Alborz Province, Hashtgerd City Iran.

4 Innovation Center of Zarnam Educators Research Industrial Group, Alborz Province, Hashtgerd City Iran

Abstract

In order to evaluate the effects of soil and foliar applications of Zargrain organic fertilizer on water-use efficiency, yield and yield components of wheat under drought conditions, two separate factorial experiments (completely randomized design of three replications) were conducted in the greenhouse. Treatments in the first experiment were four levels of foliar application (zero, 2.5, 5 and 7.5 L/1000L) and three moisture levels (field capacity, 75 and 50% of field capacity(FC)) and in the second experiment four levels of soil application (zero, 5, 10 and 20 L/ha) and the mentioned moisture levels. Greenness index, number of claws, number and height of spike, number of seeds per spike, plant height, fresh and dry weights were measured and water-use efficiency was calculated. Both soil and foliar applications methods increased grain yield, plant dry weight, greenness index and water-use efficiency compared to control. Application of 20 L/ha caused a 13% increase in the number of spikes, and the application of 5 to 20 L/ha increased the number of seeds in spike by 22 to 31%, respectively. The number of seeds per spike increased by 7.5 L/1000L foliar application. The highest greenness index (38% increase in 0.75FC treatment) and water-use efficiency (0.55 g/L in 0.5FC condition) was observed with soil application of 20 L/ha fertilizer. Fertilizer application in dry conditions prevented dry-weight loss and soil application was more effective. Application of fertilizer increases the growth/performance of the plant and it can be used to improve the quantity/quality of the yield, especially in arid/semi-arid regions.

Keywords

Main Subjects

EXTENDED ABSTRACT

 

Introduction

Use of organic compounds has received increased attention in order to increase productivity in the agricultural sector, improve food quality, maintain the quality of soil and environment, and also as one of the methods of dealing with drought stress and reducing its negative effects. One of the organic compounds is organic fertilizers containing amino acids, which are suitable sources of nitrogen supply and are of plant growth regulators that can be used as soil and foliar application. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of soil and foliar application of Zargreen organic fertilizer on water-use efficiency, yield and yield components of wheat under drought stress conditions.

 

Material and Methods

Two separate Factorial experiments were conducted in completely randomized design with three replications in greenhouse conditions. Treatments in the first experiment included four levels of foliar application of Zargreen amino acid fertilizer (with concentrations of 0, 2.5, 5, and 7.5 L/1000L) and three moisture levels (field capacity (no stress), 75 and 50% of field capacity, FC). In the second experiment, there were four levels of soil application of Zargreen fertilizer (0, 5, 10, and 20 L/ha) and the mentioned three moisture levels. Soil treatments were used before planting, 2 and 4 months after planting and foliar applications were used out at 1.5, 3, and 4 months after planting. During the growing season, the amount of water consumed was measured. Two weeks after the last stage of foliar application, the greenness index and before harvesting the number of tillers, the number and height of the spike, number of seeds in the spike and the height of the plant, and after harvesting, the fresh and dry weight were measured and water-use efficiency was calculated. Data analysis was done using SPSS software and averages were compared with the Duncan's test at 5% probability level.

 

Results

Soil application of Zargreen fertilizer had a significant effect on the number of tiller, the number of spikes, number of seeds, greenness index, 1000-seed weight, harvest index, and water-use efficiency. Foliar application of the fertilizer also had a significant effect on the number of tiller, the number of spikes, the length of spikes, the number of seeds, plant height, greenness index, harvest index, and water-use efficiency. Drought stress had a significant effect on all studied attributes (except spike length in soil application test and greenness index and thousand seed weight in the foliar application test). The interaction effect of soil application of fertilizer and water stress on seed number, greenness index, 1000-seed weight, and harvest index and the interaction of foliar application and water stress on seed number, harvest index, and water-use efficiency were significant.

Both soil and foliar application of fertilizer increased seed yield, plant dry weight, greenness index, and water-use efficiency compared to that of the control (although some changes were not significant). Soil application of 20 L/ha of fertilizer caused a 13% increase in the number of spikes. Soil application of 5, 10, and 20 L/ha also caused significant increases of 22, 25, and 31% in the number of seeds per spike, respectively. Number of seeds per spike increased (16%) with 7.5 L/1000L foliar application of the fertilizer. The highest greenness index at all drought stress levels was obtained with 20 L/ha soil application of fertilizer and caused a 38% increase at the 0.75FC drought stress of. The highest water-use efficiency (0.55 g/L) was observed with soil application of 20 L/ha and in 0.5FC. Decrease in plant dry weight due to drought stress in the soil application treatments is significantly less than that of foliar application treatments. In general, application of the organic fertilizer at all drought stress levels prevented the decrease in dry weight.

 

Conclusion

The soil or foliar application of Zargreen organic fertilizer, which contains a lot of amino acids, increased water-use efficiency, number of tiller, number of spikes, number of grains per spike, and the amount of greenness index of wheat. It is probably due to the positive effects on the soil physical and chemical characteristics and improvement in water retention of soil, as well as supplying the required nutrients by the plant. Therefore, considering the positive effects of the studied fertilizer, it can be used to increase the quantity and quality of the product, especially in arid and semi-arid regions that facing drought stress. It is suggested to investigate the effect of other levels of the studied fertilizer on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of wheat and the other plants in the field conditions.

 

 

References

Abbasi, M., Najafi, N., Aliasgharzad, N., & Oustan, Sh. (2012). Effects of soil water conditions and organic and chemical fertilizers on growth characteristics and water use efficiency of rice in an alkaline non˗calcareous soil. Journal of Science and Technology of Greenhouse Culture, 3(11), 1˗17 (In Persian).
Abbate, P. E., Dardanelli, J. L., Cantarero, M. G., Maturano, M., Melchiori, R. J. M., & Suero, E. E. (2004). Climatic and water availability effects on water-use efficiency in wheat. Crop Science, 44, 474–483.
Adekiya, A. O., Ojeniyi, S. O., & Agbede, T. M. (2012). Poultry manure effects on soil properties, leaf nutrient status, growth and yield of cocoyam in a tropical Alfisol. Nigerian Journal of Soil Science, 22(2), 30–39.
Aghaye Noroozlo, Y., Souri, M. K., & Delshad, M. (2019). Stimulation effects of foliar applied glycine and glutamine amino acids on lettuce growth. Open Agriculture, 4, 164-172.
Ahmadinejad, R., Najafi, N., Aliasgharzad, N., & Oustan, Sh. (2013). Effects of organic and nitrogen fertilizers on water use efficiency, yield, and the growth characteristics of wheat (Triticum aestivum cv. Alvand). Water and Soil Science, 23(2), 177-190 (In Persian).
Angers, D. A., Chantigny, M. H., MacDonald, J. D., Rochette, P. & Côté, D. (2010). Differential retention of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in grassland soil profiles with long-term manure application. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 86, 225–229.
Anjum, N. A., Gill, S. S., & Gill, R. (2014). Plant adaptation to environmental change: significance of amino acids and their derivatives. Boston, Massachusetts: CABI
Ayoola, O.T., & Makind, E.A. (2009). Maize growth, yield and soil nutrient changes with N-enriched organic fertilizers. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 9, 580-592.
Bakry, B. A., Elewa, T. A., El- kramany, M. F., & Wali, A. M. (2013). Effect of humic and ascorbic acids foliar application on yield and yield components of two Wheat cultivars grown under newly reclaimed sandy soil. International Journal of Agronomy and Plant Production, 4, 1125-1133.
Boutraa, T., Akhkha, A., Al-Shoaibi, A. A., & Alhejeli, A. M. (2010). Effect of water stress on growth and water use efficiency (WUE) of some wheat cultivars (Triticum durum) grown in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Taibah University for Science, 3, 39-48. 
 Bremner, J. (1996). Nitrogen total. Methods of Soil Analysis. In: D. L. Sparks et al. (Eds). Method of Soil Analysis. Part 3. pp. 1085-1121. Chemical Methods. American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI, USA
Emam, Y. (2007). Cereal production. Shiraz University Press. Shiraz. 190 pp. (In Persian)
Emam, Y., & Seghatoeslami, M. J. (2005). Crop Yield, Physiology and Processes. Shiraz University Press. Shiraz. (In Persian).
Fang, Y., Du, Y., Wang, J., Wu, A., Qiao, S., Xu, B., Zhang, S., Siddique, K. H., & Chen, Y. (2017). Moderate drought stress affected root growth and grain yield in old, modern and newly released cultivars of winter wheat. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.00672
Gavili, E., Moosavi, A. A., & Kamkar Haghighi, A. A. (2019a). Does biochar mitigate the adverse effects of drought on the agronomic traits and yield components of soybean? Industrial Crops and Products, 128, 445-454.
Gavili, E., Moosavi, A. A., & Moradi Choghamarani, F. (2018). Cattle manure biochar potential for ameliorating soil physical characteristics and spinach response under drought. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 64, 1714-1727.
Gavili, E., Moosavi, A. A., & Zahedifar, M. (2019b). Integrated effects of cattle manure-derived biochar and soil moisture conditions on soil chemical characteristics and soybean yield. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 65, 1758-1774.
Gee, G. W., & Boder, D. (2002). Particle-size analysis. In: Dane, J. H. and G. C. Topp. (Eds.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 4- Physical Methods. Agronomy Monograph, No 9. American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI, PP. 255-293.
Hossain, M. A., Bhattacharjee, S., Armin, S. M., Qian, P., Xin, W., Li, H. Y., Burritt, D. J., Fujita, M., & Tran, L. S. P. (2015). Hydrogen peroxide priming modulates abiotic oxidative stress tolerance: insights from ROS detoxification and scavenging. Frontier in Plant Sciences, 6, 345–361.
Hasani, A., & Amiri, M. R. (2017). Effect of foliar application of amino acids on nitrogen use efficiency, grain yield and quality of barely. Applied Fields of Crops Research, 29(3), 76-86 (In Persian). 
Hopkins, W. G., & Huner, N. P. (2004). Introduction to plant physiology. 3rd ed., John Wiley & Sons Pub., New York.
Ibrahim, M., Iqbal, M., & Elahi Valeem, E. (2008). Response of wheat growth and yield to various levels of compost and organic manure. Pakistan Journal of Botany, 40(5), 2135-2141.
Kiani, A. R., Mirlatofi, M, Homaee, M., & Cheraghi, A. M. (2005). Water use efficiency of wheat under salinity and water stress conditions. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research, 6, 47-64 (In Persian).
Lopert, R. H., & Suarez, D. L. (1996). Carbonate and gypsum. In: Sparks., (Ed.) Methods of Soil Analysis. Part III, 3rd Ed. Soil Science Society of America., Inc, American Society of Agronomy Madison, WI. PP. 437-474.
Ma, X., Li, H., Xu, Y., & Liu, C. (2021). Effects of organic fertilizers via quick artificial decomposition on crop growth. Scientific Report, 11, 3900.
Majidian, M., Ghalavand, A., Karimian, N., Kamgar Haghighi, A. A. (2008). Effects of moisture stress, nitrogen fertilizer, manure and integrated nitrogen and manure fertilizer on yield, yield components and water use efficiency of SC 704 corn. Journal of Water and Soil Science, 12(45), 417-432 (In Persian).
Marschner, P. (2011). Marschner’s mineral nutrition of higher plants (3rd ed.). Elsevier, London, p. 672.
Mikkelsen, R. L. (2008). Where does foliar fertilization fit in? Plant Nutrition TODAY, International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), Spring 2008, No. 3.
Moosavi, A. A. & Ronaghi, M. (2010). Growth and iron-manganese relationships in dry bean as affected by foliar and soil application of iron and manganese. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 33, 1353-1365.
Moosavi, A. A. & Ronaghi, M. (2011). Influence of foliar and soil applications of iron and manganese on soybean dry matter yield and iron-manganese relationship in a Calcareous soil. Australian Journal of Crop Science, 5, 1550-1556.
Mosavi, S. B., Jafarzadeh, A. A., Neishabouri, M. R., Ostan, S., & Feiziasl, V. (2009). Rye green manure along with nitrogen fertilizer application increase wheat (Triticum aestinum L.) production under dryland condition. International of Journal Agriculture Research, 4, 204-212.
Najafian, Sh., & Zahedifar, M. (2018). Productivity, essential oil components and herbage yield, of sweet basil as a function of biochar and potassium-nano chelate. Journal of Essential Oil Bearing Plants, 83,886-894.
Nelson, D. W., & Sommers, L. E. (1996). Total carbon, organic carbon and organic matter. In: D. L. Sparks et al., (Eds.), Method of Soil Analysis. Part III. 3rd Ed. Soil Science Society of America Inc., American Society of Agronomy Madison, WI. PP. 61-1010.
Olsen, S. R., Cole, C. V., Watanabe, F. S., & Dean, L. A. (1954). Estimation of available phosphorus in soils by extraction with sodium bicarbonate. Circular, Vol 939 (p. 19). Washington, DC: US Department of Agriculture.
Popko, M., Michalak, I., Wilk, R., Gramza, M., Chojnacka, K., & Górecki, H. (2018). Effect of the new plant growth biostimulants based on amino acids on yield and grain quality of winter wheat. Molecules, 23(2), 470.
Purbajanti, E. D., Slamet, W., Fuskhah, E., & Rosyida, R. (2019). Effects of organic and inorganic fertilizers on growth, activity of nitrate reductase and chlorophyll contents of peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.), IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci. 250 012048.
Rhoades, J. D. (1996). Salinity: Electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids. In: D. L. Sparks et al. (Eds.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part III, 3rd Ed., American Society of Agronomy Madison, WI. PP. 417-436.
Rokhafrooz, Kh., Emam, Y., & Pirasteh-Anosheh, H. (2016).The effect of chlormequat chloride on yield and yield components of three wheat cultivars under drought stress conditions. Journal of Crop Production and Processing, 6(20), 111-123 (In Persian).
Souri M.K., Yaghoubi Sooraki F., & Moghadamyar M. (2017). Growth and quality of cucumber, tomato, and green bean plants under foliar and soil applications of an aminochelate fertilizer.
Horticulture, Environment and Biotechnology, 58(6), 530-536.
Summer, M. E., & Miller, W. P., 1996. Cation exchange capacity and exchange coefficient. In: D. L. Sparks et al. (Eds.), Methods of Soil Analysis. Part III. 3rd Ed. Soil Science Society of America. ASA. Madison, WI. PP. 1201-1229.
Tahami, M. K., Jahan, M., Khalilzadeh, H., & Mehdizadeh, M. (2017). Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria in an ecological cropping system: A study on basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) essential oil production. Industrial Crops and Products, 107, 97–104.
Tang, J., Xu, J., Wen, Y., Tian, C., Lin, Z., & Zhao, B. (2019). Effects of organic fertilizer and inorganic fertilizer on the wheat yields and soil nutrients under long-term fertilization. Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer Science, 25, 1827–1834.
Teixeira, W. F., Soares, L. H., Fagan, E. B. Costa Mello, S. D., Reichardt, K., & Dourado-Neto, D. (2020). Amino acids as stress reducers in soybean plant growth under different water-deficit conditions. Journal of Plant Growth Regulator, 39, 905–919.
Thomas, G.W. (1996). Soil pH and Soil Acidity. In: D. L. Sparks et al. (Eds). Methods of Soil Analysis. Part3, 3rd Ed. Am. Soc. Agron. Madison, WI. PP. 475-490.
Thornton, B., & Robinson, D. (2005). Uptake and assimilation of nitrogen from solutions containing multiple N sources. Plant Cell and Environment, 28, 813-821.
Wang, W. X., Vinocur, B., & Altman, A. (2003). Plant responses to drought, salinity, and extreme temperatures: towards genetic engineering for stress tolerance. Planta. 218,1-14.
Yadana, K. L., Aung, K. M., Takeo, Y., & Kazuo, O. (2009). The effects of green manure (Sesbania rostrata) on the growth and yield of rice, Journal of the Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, 54 (2), 313–319.
Ye, Sh., Peng, B., & Liu, T. (2022). Effects of organic fertilizers on growth characteristics and fruit quality in Pear‑jujube in the Loess Plateau. Scientific Reports, 12, 13372.
Yu, S. M., Jin, Q. Y., Zhu, L. F., Ouyang, Y. N., & Xu, D. H. (2007). The effects of nutri smart TM eco-fertilizer on the yields and cash income in rice. China Rice 04 M, 72–74.
Zahedifar, M. (2020a). Effect of biochar on cadmium fractions in some polluted saline and sodic soils. Environmental Management, 66, 1133-1141.
Zahedifar, M. (2020b). Iron fractionation in the calcareous soils of different land uses as influenced by biochar. Waste Biomass Valorization, 11, 2321-2330.
Zahedifar, M., & Moosavi, A. A. (2020). Assessing cadmium availability of contaminated saline-sodic soils as influenced by biochar using the adsorption isotherm models. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 66, 1735-1752.
Zhang, J., Sha, Z., Zhang, Y., Bei, Z., & Cao, L. (2015). The effects of different water and nitrogen levels on yield, water, and nitrogen utilization efficiencies of spinach. Canadian Journal of Plant Science, 95, 671-679.
Zhao, W. Liu, L. Shen, Q. Yang, J. Han, X. Tian, F. & Wu, J. (2020). Effects of water stress on photosynthesis, yield, and water use efficiency in winter wheat. Water, 12, 2127. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12082127
 
 
Iranian Journal of Soil and Water Research
Volume 54, Issue 1
April 2023
Pages 135-153

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics