Nitrogen and phosphorus content, hectoliter weight and yield variations of wheat grain as affected by cropping intensity.
Year: 2007
Type: article
Abstract: Public concerns over the potential environmental hazards of intensive agriculture have renewed an interest in the low-input nitrogen (N) fertilization practices for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).A two-year study (2001 and 2002) was conducted to determine the infl uence of cropping intensity, namely the low-N (67 kg N ha -1 ) and high-N (194 kg N ha -1 ) input levels on the grain N and phosphorus (P) content, phytate-P (phytic acid and its salts), hectoliter weight and grain yield of three bread wheat cultivars widely grown in Croatia.Growing conditions signifi cantly aff ected grain yields averaging 6641 kg ha -1 in the fi rst growing season and 8295 kg ha -1 in the following year.Despite an associated increase in the 1000-grain weights, the use of the low-N fertilization brought about a signifi cant decrease in grain yield, hectoliter weight and grain N content in all cultivars by an average of 18.1%, 1.5% and 22.6%, respectively, when compared to the high-N fertilization level.Th e reductions in grain N content were consistent in both years regardless of variations in grain yields among three tested cultivars.Grain N content under the low-N fertilization averaged 17.1 g kg -1 only, which may limit its use for breadmaking.In contrast, grain P content was not aff ected by N fertilization or growing season and averaged 4.70 g kg -1 across all treatments.Absolutely small, but signifi cant diff erences existed among cultivars for total grain P content, of which about 80% was in the form of phytate-P.A negative correlation between the 1000-grain weight and P content was found because of tendency toward lower P content in heavier grains.When compared to the high-N input, the low-N fertilization practices for wheat crop were associated with a signifi cant decrease in grain yield and grain N content in all cultivars, but had no eff ect on grain P content regardless of cultivar.
Authors: Zlatko Svečnjak, Marija Bujan, I. Dragojević, Dubravka Vitali Čepo, Ana Čebuškin, Marina Jenel
Language: English
Subfield: Agronomy and Crop Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2132152568