The enhancing role of biofertilizers on the quality and quantity characteristics of flax (Linum usitatissimum L.)

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted to study bio-fertilizers efficiency on some morphological, yield components, oil and protein contents, and NPK uptake in flax. Factors were Control (T1), Biophosphor (T2), Nitroxin (T3), and an equal combination of bio-fertilizers (T4) along with two concentrations of each bio-fertilizer 2 (C1) and 4 (C2) L ha−1. The results revealed that only plant height and 100-seed weight were higher in the biophosphor and the other morphological parameters were mostly affected by the nitroxin. The most seed yield (1728.3 kg ha−1) was recorded in the first year, where nitroxin, was in low concentration. The concentrations of plant nitrogen and potassium showed more similarity in the treatments. Also, the fluctuations in the concentration of the nutrients in the first year were higher, but the average of them in the treatments was greater in the second year. The seed weight represented the maximum correlation with other parameters. The results indicated that the flaxseed oil was correlated to the phosphorous concentration (r = 0.724**) but the protein percentage was related to the nitrogen and potassium concentration with 0.983 and 0.742 correlation coefficients respectively. The highest nutrient use efficiency was gained in the biophosphor fertilizer and that too in the first year. In general, the use of biological fertilizers in flax represented a sustainable agricultural practices model.