Effect of soil- and foliar-applied nitrogen fertiliser on growth, yield and protein content of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under glasshouse conditions

Abstract

Foliar application of nitrogen (N) can be essential in improving yield and grain protein content of wheat. Limestone ammonium nitrate and calcium nitrate solution were used as two N top-dressing treatments applied at three growth stages to evaluate their effect on growth, yield and yield parameters, and protein content of wheat under glasshouse conditions. At stem extension, plants treated with soil applied N performed significantly (p<0.05) better than plants treated with foliar applied N in terms of all measured vegetative growth parameters except for leaf area and leaf area index. At early heading stage, soil applied N performed significantly better for all the parameters studied except for number of leaves pot^–1. After harvesting, all the studied parameters gave significantly better results from soil N applications compared to foliar N applications with the exception of number of ears pot^–1. A protein content of 11% was found in plants treated with foliar N compared to 10% obtained from plants treated with soil N. Soil applied top-dressing appears to be superior to foliar applied top-dressing although the positive effects of foliar top-dressing on protein content need to be investigated further.