Abstract
The aim of this investigation was to estimate the effects of foliar fertilization on quantitative traits (plant height, first pod height, number of nodes per plant, number of pods per plant, number of grain per plant, grain yield per plant, 1000-grain weight and grain yield) in two soybean cultivars (Balkan and Becejka). Studied cultivars belong to different maturity groups (Balkan - I and Becejka - 0). Four treatments of fertilization were tested: control (no fertilization), Urea (46 kg N ha-1), Urea (46 kg N ha-1) + Wuxal super (5 l ha-1) and Urea (46 kg N ha-1) + Ferticare I (5 kg ha-1). Wuxal super and Ferticare I were foliar applied two times at the R2-R3 growth stage. The field experiments were carried out in dry land farming in the region of Vojvodina province at location Putinci (45? 00? N Lat., 19? 58? E Long.), during the years 2007 and 2008. In both research years, Balkan had higher values for all investigated traits than Becejka. Results showed that foliar fertilizers significantly increased the values for all quantitative traits. Ferticare I is more effective than Wuxal super in soybean because this fertilizer has higher concentration of macronutrients. Foliar fertilization of soybean reduced the negative impact of small amounts of rainfall during the summer months on grain yield.
Highlights
Soybean is the most important legume in Serbia of animal feed and food production
Results showed that soybean cultivar Balkan, in average for years and fertilizer treatments, produced higher plant height (108.8 cm), first pod height (12.3 cm), number of nodes per plant (13,0), number of pods per plant (56.4), number of grain per plant (121.0), grain yield per plant (20.76 g), 1000-grain weight (181.89 g) and grain yield (3950 kg ha-1) than cultivar Bečejka (92.6 cm, 10.6 cm, 11,3, 48.8, 104.0, 18,04 g, 169.48 g and 3347 kg ha-1 respectively), Table 2, 3 and 4
Results showed that treatment fertilizer Urea + Ferticare I, in average for years and cultivars, produced highest plant height (108.1 cm), first pod height (12.4 cm), number of nodes per plant (13.2), number of pods per plant (58.1), number of grain per plant (124.8), grain yield per plant (21.46 g ha-1), 1000-grain weight (185.84 g) and grain yield (3961 kg ha-1)
Summary
Soybean is the most important legume in Serbia of animal feed and food production. Soybean seeds to make high protein meal which is used largely as a supplement to cereal seeds in feed domesticated livestock such as dairy cows, cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, horses and poultry (Iqbal et al, 2003; Ranđelović, 2009). Marinković et al (2010) reported that nitrogen deficiency in the soil results in significant yield losses and yield quality reduction of soybean. Results by Starling et al (2000) showed that plant growth and grain yield of soybean were higher.
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