THE EFFECT OF FOLIAR FERTILIZATION TECHNOLOGIES ON THE YIELD AND QUALITY OF DIFFERENT WINTER WHEAT VARIETIES

Abstract

The primary aim of the study is to determine the influence of foliar fertilization technologies on the yield and quality of different varieties of winter wheat. The experiment was carried out from 2021 to 2022 in the experimental fields of the Innovation and Research Center (AgroITC) of UAB Agrokoncernas, which were located in the Kaunas district near the Kaunas-Klaipėda highway. The experiment was carried out in four repetitions, which were randomized.

In a two-factor experiment, four varieties of winter wheat were studied using different foliar fertilization technologies. The soil of the experimental field is deeply carbonated with sandy loamy outcrops. Before the installation of the experiment, the soil had a neutral reaction (pH-7.5), a humic content of 3.2 %, moderate phosphorus content (131 mg kg^-1), potassium content (170.3 mg kg^-1), and a determined magnesium concentration of (254.9 mg kg^-1). Winter wheat is grown according to the technology applied by AgroITC. The preceding crop is spring wheat. Before sowing, winter wheat was fertilized with N₈P₁₉K₂₉S₃ 400 kg ha^-1. In the spring, after vegetation renewal (March 24), wheat was fertilized with ammonium nitrate (N₃₃-P₃) (N_82.5P_7.5). Later, on April 21, the crops were fertilized with ammonium sulfate (N_31.5S₃₆), and on May 16, fertilization was repeated with ammonium nitrate (N₃₃-P₃) (N_82.5P_7.5).

The highest winter wheat yield was achieved in fields fertilized with micronutrient fertilizers during the seedling, tillering, heading, and grain filling stages. The 'Janne' (6.9-7.9 t/ha^-1) and 'Aspekt' (7.0-8.1 t/ha^-1) varieties showed the lowest yield, while significantly higher yields were obtained from the 'Euforia' (7.6-8.9 t/ha^-1) and 'Artist' (7.5-9.0 t/ha^-1) varieties. The highest protein (14.2 % and 14.3 %) and gluten (27.9 % and 27.6 %) content was found in the grains of the 'Euforia' and 'Janne' varieties, which were fertilized with micronutrient fertilizers four times. The lowest protein content (13.3 %) was found in the 'Aspect' variety, while the lowest gluten content (23.9 %) was found in the 'Janne' variety, which were fertilized at the end of tillering and the beginning of heading.