THE EFFECT OF FERTILIZER ON GROWTH, NUTRIENT UPTAKE AND MOISTURE USE OF WHEAT ON TWO SOILS IN SOUTHWESTERN SASKATCHEWAN

Abstract

The use of NP fertilizer gave consistent increases in yields of wheat on a loam and a clay soil with low NaHCO3 soluble phosphorus contents. The fertilizer increased crop growth during the early part of the growing season hastened maturity, and increased the amount of stooling and the number of mature heads at harvest time.Fertilized crops on both soils used more moisture than unfertilized crops between seedtime and the heading stage. For the season as a whole, no difference in total moisture use was recorded on loam soils between fertilized and check crops but on clay soil some fertilized crops extracted more subsoil moisture than the unfertilized crops.Under the climatic conditions of these experiments yield responses obtained from fertilizer application did not appear to be directly related to the amount of available moisture at seedtime or to the seasonal precipitation. When increased yields were obtained from the use of fertilizer the fertilized crops used moisture more efficiently.The NP fertilization had little or no effect on the phosphorus content of the grain but did increase the total phosphorus uptake by the crops. The fertilizer treatment increased the protein content of wheat grown on stubble on both the loam and the clay soils and on two of the four crops grown on fallow on the loam soil.