The Effect of Urea Foliar Application on Grain Protein and Nitrogen Remobilization in Sardari Wheat Ecotypes in Both Rainfed and Irrigated Conditions

Proper nutrition of the plant is one of the important factors in improving the yield and quality of the product. In plant nutrition, each element must be sufficiently available to the plant at different stages of development. To achieve this goal, the effect of urea foliar application on grain protein and nitrogen remobilization in experimental Sardari wheat ecotypes in the form of split plots in a randomized complete block design in both rainfed and irrigated conditions in 2013-2014 crop year in Kermanshah research farm located in The city of Islamabad-e-Gharb was implemented. Experimental treatments were: foliar application of urea fertilizer application in Three levels including: control, fertilization in Heading, and Flowering as main plot and cultivar as sub-plot in fourteen levels (including 12 Sardari ecotypes along with Azar-2 and Rijaw cultivars as controls). The results of analysis of variance and mean comparison between foliar spraying treatments in both rainfed and irrigated conditions showed that grain protein, grain hardness, zeleny number, grain gluten, grain nitrogen, nitrogen remobilization in flowering stage, nitrogen transfer remobilization efficiency and nitrogen remobilization contribution. Grain nitrogen remobilization was increased by foliar application at both stages of Heading and flowering using urea fertilizer. The highest increase in grain protein was related to foliar application at flowering stage. Also, grain hardness increased due to nitrogen foliar application at Heading and flowering stage. In this study, nitrogen remobilization efficiency in rainfed conditions ranged from 54.31 to 62.73% for Sufi ecotypes and land drops and in irrigation conditions ranged from 32.24 to 49.52% for Tudar ecotype and Rijaw cultivar. In both rainfed and irrigated conditions, foliar application at flowering stage had the highest and control (without foliar application) had the lowest share of nitrogen remobilization to seed.