Effect of pre-sowing seed treatment and foliar nutrition on productivity and yield of chickpea grain in the eastern forest-steppe of Ukraine

Abstract

The results of three-year studies on the influence of elements of cultivation technology on the productivity and grain yield of the chickpea of Rozanna variety are presented. We carried research out based on KhNAU's ESPC's 'Experimental Field' during 2018-2020. The variants of the two-factor experiment were randomly placed using the method of organized repetitions. The sown area is 15 m2, and the accounting area is 10 m2. Repetition is repeated four times. Four variants of seed presowing treatment (factor A) were compared in the experiment: 1-control (water moisturizing); 2-seed treatment with an aqueous solution of the preparation Novofert; 3-seed treatment with an aqueous suspension of the preparation Rhizohumin; 4-seed treatment with a mixture of Novofert and Rhizohumin preparations, as well as two variants of foliar nutrition (factor B): 1-spraying with water; 2-spraying with an aqueous solution of the Novofert preparation. Studies have shown the high efficiency of applying the mixture of inoculant Rhizohumin and complex fertilizer Novofert for presowing treatment of chickpea seeds. The significant increase in chickpea plant survival indices has been determined in this variant. The elements of the crop structure that determine the level of crop yield, the number of beans, grains, and grain weight per one plant, have also increased significantly. In particular, the number and weight of grains in the variant of pre-sowing treatment of seeds with a mixture of these preparations, on average during three years, compared to the control were 4.1 and 5.7%, larger accordingly. On the whole, it should be noted that the optimization of chickpea cultivation technology due to presown seed treatment with a mixture of Rhizohumin and Novofert complex fertilizer inoculant, followed by foliar nutrition with this fertilizer during the flowering phase, provides a significant increase in grain yield. During the years with different vegetation weather, the grain yield of this variant was 0.37-0.96 t/ha higher than in the control. Providing improved plant growth and development of plants and a significant increase in grain yield, the application of these preparations is ecologically safe and economically profitable, as it does not require significant costs. Complex presowing treatment of chickpea seeds with Rhizohumin inoculant with Novofert fertilizer and foliar nutrition of plants in the branching phase, during three years on average provided a grain yield of 4.31 t/ha, which is by 0.58 t/ha higher than in the control.