Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Farkhondeh Rafiei ¹
• Esfandiar Fateh ²
• Ali Monsefi ³
• Amir Aynehband ⁴

¹ PhD student, Department of Production Engineering and Plant Genetic, Agricultural Faculty, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.

² Associate Prof. Department of Production Engineering and Plant Genetic,, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.

³ Associate Prof. Department of Production Engineering and Plant Genetic, Agricultural Faculty, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.

⁴ Prof. Department of Production Engineering and Plant Genetic, Agricultural Faculty, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.

Abstract

Objective: This study evaluated the effects of integrated fertilizer systems on growth and yield characteristics of wheat under the climatic conditions of Ahvaz.
Materials and Methods: The experiment was conducted in the Shahid Chamran University Faculty of Agriculture research farm during the 2022–23 cropping year. A split-plot randomized complete block design with three replications was used. The main plots consisted of five organic matter levels: (1) no residues, (2) wheat residues, (3) a mixture of sesame and mung bean residues, (4) barley and clover green manure, and (5) Sesbania green manure. The subplots represented four fertilizer management strategies: (1) entirely chemical fertilizer based on the recommended N–P–K rates (50–75–90), (2) integrated chemical and biological fertilizers (75% chemical fertilizer + Supernitroplus biological fertilizer (3 mL) + Barvar-2 (100 g ha⁻¹) + mixed micronutrient fertilizer spray), (3) Organic 1: compost (20 t ha⁻¹) + Supernitroplus (3 mL) + biosulfur (5 kg ha⁻¹) + Barvar-2 (100 g ha⁻¹) + humic acid (300 mg L⁻¹) + jasmonic acid (0.1 mM) via spray, and (4) Organic 2: vermicompost (10 t ha⁻¹) + mycorrhizal fungi (100 g m⁻²) + Supernitroplus (3 mL) + salicylic acid (1 mM). Growth and yield-related traits measured included peduncle length, peduncle internode weight, spike length, thousand-grain weight, grain number per spike, biomass yield, and grain yield.
Results: Among organic matter levels, barley+clover green manure produced the highest values for peduncle length (34.3 cm), peduncle internode weight (357.2 mg), spike length (7.9 cm), 1000-grain weight (48.3 g), grains per spike (49.5), biomass yield (11,299 kg ha⁻¹), and grain yield (4,108.8 kg ha⁻¹). Among fertilizer management levels, the combined fertilizer treatment yielded the highest peduncle internode weight (357.2 mg), while internode length was lowest (28.3 cm); spike length was greatest (9.1 cm); biomass yield reached 10,646 kg ha⁻¹ and grain yield 3,864 kg ha⁻¹. The interaction between organic matter and fertilizer level indicated that the greatest penultimate internode length (21.3 cm) occurred under barley+clover green manure with combined fertilizer; penultimate internode weight (344 and 328 mg) occurred under barley+clover green manure with combined fertilizer and Organic 1, respectively; and lower internode weight (472 mg) was observed with barley+clover green manure under combined fertilizer.
Conclusion: Overall, plant residues, particularly barley+clover and Sesbania green manures, improved the tested growth and yield traits compared with no-residue controls. Among fertilizer strategies, integrated and Organic 1 fertilizer regimes significantly outperformed chemical-only and Organic 2 treatments. These findings suggest that integrating organic residues with mineral and biological inputs can enhance wheat performance under Ahvazian conditions.

Keywords

• Biofertilizers
• Grain yield
• Green manure
• Stem internodes
• Supernitroplus