Abstract
Common sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia L.) is a forage crop belonging to the legume family. The crop is characterized by numerous favorable criteria such as the capability to fix atmospheric nitrogen symbiotically. In order to study the response of various ecotypes of common sainfoin to the foliar application of nitrogen and micronutrients, such as iron and zinc, two separate field experiments were conducted using a spilt-plot design with completely randomized block replicated three times. In the first experiment, the main plots included five different ecotypes of common sainfoin, and the sub-plots included four rates of urea application (0, 15, 30 and 45 kg N/ha). In the second experiment, the main plots included seven different ecotypes of common sainfoin, and the sub-plots included four rates of micronutrients (0, 0.04 % Fe, 0.04 % Zn and 0.04 % Fe + 0.04 % Zn). The foliar application of urea, Fe and Zn with increasing nutrient concentrations had a statistically significant (p<0.01) effect on plant height (cm) and shoot dry weight (g) at the first and second harvests, and on the leaf area (mm2) only at the first harvest of different ecotypes of common sainfoin. Results indicated that addition of 30 kg N/ha were more effective at increasing plant height, shoot dry weight and leaf surface area. Aligoodarz ecotype showed the greatest response to the foliar application of urea relative to the other ecotypes. The application of Fe and Zn simultaneously resulted in the maximum values for plant height, shoot dry weight and leaf area. Uroumia Mamish Khan ecotypes had the highest response to the foliar application of the two micronutrients compared to the other ecotypes. In general, the results of the current study show that an amount of 30 kg N/ ha as urea and 0.04 % Fe + 0.04 % Zn as the respective chelate is needed for an optimum growth and yield production of the common sainfoin in the studied area.
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