Effect of poultry manure and micronutrient foliar application on some wheat quantity and quality characteristics under rainfed conditions

Excessive use of chemical fertilizers causes imbalance of nutrients, especially micronutrients, in soil and leads to decreased absorption of iron, zinc and manganese by plants. The prevalent calcareous and alkali conditions of agricultural soils in East Azerbaijan have resulted in restricted absorption and uptake of soil micronutrients by crops in the province. In order to investigate the effects of micronutrients and organic fertilizers on some properties of wheat Cv. Sardari, a field experiment based on randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 12 treatments and three replications was performed at the research farm of Maragheh University during 2013-2014. Treatments included FeSO4, ZnSO4, FeSO4+ ZnSO4, FeSO4+ MnSO4, ZnSO4+MnSO4, poultry manure, poultry manure+FeSO4, poultry manure+ ZnSO4, poultry manure+MnSO4, poultry manure+FeSO4+ ZnSO4+MnSO4. Concentrations of Fe, Zn and Mn were 1000, 3000 and 1000 ppm, respectively. Results showed that integrated application of micronutrients and organic fertilizers increased nitrogen percentage and grain protein content. Combined application of poultry manure+FeSO4+ ZnSO4+MnSO4 increased grain yield, protein yield, protein content and potassium content by 44.86, 54.24, 6.38 and 41.86 percent, respectively over the control. The highest phosphorous content was achieved by application of FeSO4, followed by poultry manure + FeSO4. In general, micronutrients and organic fertilizer enhanced wheat grain yield and quality by influencing the soil macronutrients uptake.