Improve quality and productivity of some faba bean cultivars with foliar application of fulvic acid

Y R Abdel-Baky,A M Abd El-Sttar,A A Amin,H F Abouziena,M Rashad El-Sh

doi:10.1186/s42269-018-0040-3

Y R Abdel-Baky, A M Abd El-Sttar + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s42269-018-0040-3

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Abstract

BackgroundTwo field experiments were carried out at the Research and Production Station of the National Research Centre, Nubaria region, Behira Governorate, Egypt, during two winter seasons of 2014/2015 and 2015/2016. The aim of this study was to investigate the response of vegetative growth, yield, yield components, and some metabolic constituents of four faba bean (Vicia faba L.) cultivars “Nubaria 2, Sakha 1, Sakha 3, and Sakha 4” to foliar application of fulvic acid (FA) at 0.0, 3, 6, and 9 gL− 1.ResultsThe results show that all applications of FA increased all vegetative characters (i.e., plant height, number of branches and leaves, and total dry weight/plant, fourth leaf area and leaf area index, specific leaf weight, and crop growth rate), as well as, yield and its components (i.e., number of pods/plant, weight of pods/plant, seed and straw yield/plant, seed and straw yield/feddan, and seed index) of all studied faba bean cultivars, comparing to untreated plants. The results also show the total photosynthetic pigments content in leaves were increased by increasing FA concentration up to 9 gL−1. Treatment FA at 9 gL−1, significantly improved the nutritional value and quality of seeds by increasing total carbohydrates, crude protein, minerals (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) content, arginine, lysine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan.ConclusionsGenerally, foliar application of FA at 9 gL−1, singly or interaction with Sakha 4 effectively increased seed yield and quality. In conclusion, the growth and yield contributing characters and quality of four bean cultivars could be improved with foliar application of FA treatments.

Highlights

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) family (Fabaceae) is one of the most important legume crops, providing between 28 and 30% of the dietary protein for humans, 51–68% total carbohydrates, and considered as a good source of natural antioxidants (Chaieb et al 2011)
The most effective treatments on growth parameters were the interaction of fulvic acid (FA) at 9 gL−1 with Sakha 4 cultivar followed by FA at 9 gL−1 with Sakha 3 cultivar at the three stages of growth
When considered as a single factor, foliar application of FA up to 9 gL−1 increased plant height (PH), branch number (BN), leaf number (LN), total dry weight/plant (TDW), 4-leaf area (LA), leaf area index (LAI), specific leaf weight (SLW), and crop growth rate (CGR) compared to the untreated control plants

Summary

Introduction

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) family (Fabaceae) is one of the most important legume crops, providing between 28 and 30% of the dietary protein for humans, 51–68% total carbohydrates, and considered as a good source of natural antioxidants (Chaieb et al 2011). Faba bean increases humus of soil and use in crop rotation (Kumar et al 2015). Fulvic acids can remain in soil solution even at high salt concentrations and at a wide range of pH (Zimmerli et al 2008) and have long-lasting potential to interact with plant roots. The aim of this study was to investigate the response of vegetative growth, yield, yield components, and some metabolic constituents of four faba bean (Vicia faba L.) cultivars “Nubaria 2, Sakha 1, Sakha 3, and Sakha 4” to foliar application of fulvic acid (FA) at 0.0, 3, 6, and 9 gL− 1

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