Response of yield and physiology of sweet corn to coated urea fertilizer under different levels of irrigation

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D.Student, Dept. of Plant Production and Genetic Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Agriculture and Natural Resources Science University of Khuzestan, Ahvaz, Iran

2 Prof., Dept. of Plant Production and GeneticEngineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Agriculture and Natural Resources Science University of Khuzestan, Ahvaz, Iran

3 Assist. Prof., Dept. of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Biology Sicences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

4 Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Plant Production and GeneticEngineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Agriculture and Natural Resources Science University of Khuzestan, Ahvaz, Iran

Abstract

To investigate the effect of biopolymer coated urea fertilizer on physiological traits related to yield of sweet corn under deficit irrigation, an experiment was carried out in strip split plot based on randomized complete block design with four replications in Agriculture and Natural Resources Science University of Khuzestan, Iran, in 2016. Irrigationin three levels (100, 80 and 60% water requirement) in length of blocks and urea fertilizer in six levels (without fertilizer as check treatment, pure urea, sulfur-coated urea, starch-coated urea, agar-coated urea and chitin-coated urea) in vertical strips to irrigation in each block were used. The results showed that the effect of irrigation and type of coated nitrogen fertilizer on leaf relative humidity, chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b, leaf area index, leaf rolling, ear yield, and interaction of irrigation × fertilizer on chlorophylla and b and grain yield per hectare was significant. The application of coated urea fertilizer increased 29.41, 15.06, 24.88, 34.11 and 14.88 percent on average in leaf area index, relative water content, leaf rolling, ear yield per hectare and fresh forage yield per hectare, respectively, compared to pure urea fertilizer. Also, the highest values of chlorophyll a and b and grain yield per ha were obtained from chitin coated urea fertilizer together with full irrigation (100% water requirement) and their lowest values were from the check fertilizer (without urea)with 60% water requirement. The reduction of 40% in irrigation decreased 15.89%, 31.02%, 42.85% and 40.33% in relative water content, leaf area index, leaf rolling and ear yeild per hectar, respectively, compared to full irrigation. The highest economic ear yield with average of 10238.6 kg/ha and 9853.3 kg/hawas obtained from full irrigation and chitin coated urea,respectively, and the lowest ear yieldwas obtained from 60% water requirement with check fertilizer treatment.

Keywords


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