Abstract:
Climate change, global
warming, environmental pollution,
greenhouse gas emissions from
agricultural fields, stagnant wheat yields
and reduced farm economic returns require
optimisation of sources and doses of plant
nutrients. A field study was conducted to
evaluate wheat response to different forms
of fertilisers and nitrogen (N) doses under
Mediterranean conditions. The field trial
was comprised of fertiliser sources,
including chemical fertilisers, compost and
leonardite, while different nitrogen levels
(0, 80, 160, 240 kg ha-1) were also tested.
The experimental variables included yield
attributes (height of the, length of the
spike, spikelets number per spike,
thousand-grain weight and grain yield). In
addition, nutritional quality attributes like
protein and starch contents were studied
along with NDVI values of wheat under
different fertilisation regimes. The trial
was executed using a randomised
complete block (factorial) design using
four replications. The results revealed that
fertiliser forms and N doses remained
ineffective for boosting yield attributes of
wheat. For nutritional characteristics of
wheat grains, a higher N dose remained
instrumental in boosting protein, starch
and wet gluten contents. Thus, 240 kg ha-1
of N dose might be recommended for
general adoption under Mediterranean
conditions; however, study findings are
limited in scope and further in-depth
studies are needed by testing organic
manures from plant and animal origins.
