THE EFFECT OF HUMIC ACIDS AND SILICON ON SPRING WHEAT PRODUCTIVITY

Abstract

In recent years, farmers across the country have been using intensive farming systems to increase yields and profits. As the number of livestock farms has declined, so has the use of organic fertilizers. The use of mineral fertilizers alone, combined with the increased use of pesticides, has led to a decline in soil bioactivity, humus content, and soil fertility. It is therefore particularly important to use fertilizers enriched with humic acids, which are characterized as growth promoters – they stimulate root development, the growth of the vegetative part of the plant, the chlorophyll content of the leaves, the intensification of respiration and photosynthesis, and the germination of the seeds. These acids make plants more resistant to adverse environmental conditions and increase their yield. To this end, an experiment was conducted in 2022 at the Experimental Station of Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy (54° 53' 6.17", 23° 50' 14.8"). The research was carried out on a Calcari-Endohypogleyic Luvisol. The soil is slightly alkaline (pH 7.1–7.2), highly phosphatic (P₂O₅ 227 mg kg^-1), and moderately calcareous (K₂O 135 mg kg^-1). The fertilizers used in the study were: 1) Without humic acids and silicon and 2) With humic acids and silicon. The results show that the use of plant fertilizers with humic acids and silicon stimulates the photosynthetic potential of plants. There is a significant increase in the content of photosynthetic pigments: chlorophyll a (19.3% at flowering and 13.6% at maturity), chlorophyll b (33.9% and 19.8%, respectively), and total pigments (12.8% and 10.1%, respectively). Humic acids with silicon increased the productivity of spring wheat. Significantly higher aboveground and root mass, leaf area, the number of leaves, and total plant mass were observed with the use of humic acids and silicon fertilizer. The use of humic acids improved the quality of spring wheat grain.