The effect of nitrogen, sulfur and silicate fertilizer application on growth, yield, and biochemical content of vegetable soybean pod (Glycine max L. Merr.)

Abstract

Optimized fertilizer management, focusing on nitrogen, sulfur, and silica, plays a crucial role in agriculture production. This study aimed to investigate the effects of administering sulfur and silica on the growth, production yield, and biochemical contents of vegetable soybean. The investigation was conducted in factorial randomized block design with two factors and three replications. The first factor was the nitrogen (46% N) fertilizer dosage (N1 = 50 kg/ha and N2 = 100 kg/ha), while the second variable was the dosage with the following sulfur-silica soluble compound (2.3% S – 10% Si) fertilizer ratios (P0 = 0 ml/L (control), P1 = 1 ml/L (23 mg/L S and 100 mg/L Si), P2 = 1.33 ml/L (30,7 mg/L S and 133 mg/L Si), and P3 = 2 ml/L (46 mg/L S and 200 mg/L Si). The results indicated that applying 2 ml/L S-Si fertilizer along with 100 kg/ha of nitrogen can lead to the most favorable results in number of branches, number of leaves, number of pods, pod weight per plant, weight of 100 seeds and plant biomass weight. The fertilizer dose comprising of 50 kg/ha of N and 9.2-40 mg/plant of S-Si clearly demonstrated the highest protein content, measuring 110.6 mg/g. S-Si fertilizer dosages, exhibiting a linear escalation in the 11S/7S globulin ratio within vegetable soybean seeds. The peak 11S/7S ratio was observed in the treatment of 100 kg/ha of N - 2 ml/L of S-Si. The study results indicate that a combination of nitrogen fertilizer and sulfur-silicon yields the best vegetable soybean pod yield, improving soybean protein nutritional quality. Therefore, sulfur and silica treatments should be standardized in vegetable soybean management