Effect of manure and foliar application of humic acid on morphological and physiological traits of wheat

Subject Areas : Journal of Plant Ecophysiology

A. Dolatabadi ¹ (دانشجوی کارشناسی ارشد دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی واحد دامغان)
J. Masoud Sinaki ² (استادیار دانشگاه آزاداسلامی واحد دامغان)
H. Abbaspour ³ (استادیار دانشگاه آزاداسلامی واحد دامغان)
A. Ebadi ⁴ (استادیاردانشگاه آزاد اسلامی واحد جویبار)

Received: 2014-09-24 Accepted : 2014-09-24 Published : 2014-09-01

Keywords: Manure, Spraying, Organic fertilizer, Wheat, Cultivar,

Abstract :

A factorial experiment was conducted in the region of Majan in Shahrood using the complete randomized blocks design in three replications in the cropping year 2012-2013 to study the effects of applying manure, and of spraying humic acid, on some morphological and physiological characters of the two wheat cultivars of Alvand and Sayonez. There were two levels of manure application: D1 (35 tons per hectare) and D2 (no manure applied), and two levels of humic acid spray: H1 (0.001 liter) and H2 (no humic acid sprayed). Analysis of variance showed that the largest average wet and dry weights of the aerial parts of wheat plants in the humic acid treatments were 0.96 and 0.59 grams, respectively, and that the interaction effects of the cultivar Alvand, humic acid spray, and manure application resulted in plants having the maximum height of 98.16 centimeters. Humic acid spray increased chlorophyll a concentration the most (2.04 milligrams per gram of wet plant weight), while the largest chlorophyll b concentration (0.97 milligram per gram of wet plant weight) belonged to the treatment of the cultivar Alvand sprayed with humic acid. The highest total chlorophyll concentration observed in the treatment of spraying humic acid was 2.91 milligrams per gram of wet plant weight. The treatment of cultivar Alvand and humic acid spray and the treatment of the cultivar Sayonez without humic acid spray, but with manure application, had the largest carotenoid concentration (0.96 milligram per gram of wet plant weight). The results showed that using humic acid and applying manure can have positive effects on wheat seed yield and on some of the cultural characters related to seed yield, and that these effects may result from the physiological effects of spraying humic acid and applying manure. Finally, it is concluded that spraying humic acid and applying manure, besides increasing wheat yield, can play a considerable role in achieving the goals of sustainable agriculture.