RUDN University agronomists increased wheat yield by 65%

Wheat is the most demanding grain crop. For a good harvest, you need a large amount of nitrogen. However, excessive fertilizer, on the contrary, spoils the soil and reduces the yield. To solve this problem, a precisely balanced amount of fertilizer is needed. RUDN University agronomists suggested using nitrogen in combination with plant growth regulators.

“Among grain crops, winter wheat can be considered one of the most demanding on nitrogen. It is one of the main elements, it plays a key role in the development of soil cover, plant nutrition and soil fertility. To increase the yield of winter wheat grain, fertilizers must be applied. However, the irrational use of fertilizers leads to serious environmental problems and reduced profits for farmers. To avoid this, you need an effective ratio of basic and top dressing nitrogen and a combination with growth regulators. For this, it is necessary to better study the effect of nitrogenous fertilizers and growth regulators,” Meisam Zargar, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor of the Agrobiotechnological Department of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia.

The field experiment lasted three years. The effect of top dressing was tested on the example of dark chestnut soil in the Rostov region (Russia), where winter wheat grew. RUDN University agronomists tested three approaches — with single, double and triple top dressing in the amount of 32 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare. In addition to nitrogen, the soil was treated with one of the growth regulators — Zircon, Albit or Silk.

The highest average yield for three years was produced by wheat, which was fertilized three times with nitrogen and Albit — 5.34 tons per hectare. In 2020, the harvest was especially high due to good weather conditions and reached 6.27 tons per hectare. For comparison: unprocessed wheat yields an average of 3.79 tons per hectare — 65% less. Moreover, the wheat fertilized in this way gave grain with a high gluten content — more than 28%. Such grain is suitable for the production of premium flour.

“Triple fertilizing with nitrogen plus the use of Albit turned out to be the best option for increasing the yield and quality of winter wheat grain,” Meisam Zargar, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor of the Agrobiotechnological Department of RUDN University.

The results are published in the journal Agriculture.