101(4)_str48

 

ISSN 1392-3196 / e-ISSN 2335-8947
Zemdirbyste-Agriculture, vol. 101, No. 4 (2014), p. 381–388
DOI  10.13080/z-a.2014.101.048

Analysis of grain yield and its components in spring triticale under different N fertilization regimes

Daiva JANUŠAUSKAITĖ

Abstract

Grain yield is a result of an organized interplay of several yield components, which are highly susceptible to environmental fluctuations. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about the relationship between grain yield and factors governing it. Experiments were conducted during the period 2008–2011 at the Institute of Agriculture, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry in Central Lithuania (55023′50″ N and 23051′40″ E) on an Endocalcari-Endohypogleyic Cambisol (CMg-n-w-can). The correlation coefficients and path coefficient analysis was done: i) to study the interrelationship between spring triticale grain yield and its components under different N fertilization regimes, ii) to establish the impact of meteorological factors on them, iii) to explain the causality of associations between the mentioned parameters through direct and indirect effects. Three nitrogen levels were used: i) without nitrogen (N0), ii) N applied as basic fertilization shortly before sowing (N60-180), iii) N90 and N150 rates split in two and three applications. Grain yield, yield components (ears m-2, grains ear-1, thousand grain weight) and meteorological factors were investigated. The results demonstrated that the interrelationship between grain yield and its components differed between N fertilization levels. Under single N60-180 fertilization, grain yield of spring triticale depended on ears m-2 and a thousand grain weight. Under split N90, N150 level the yield depended on ears m-2. The correlation matrix between spring triticale grain yield and yield components did not reveal significant causality at N0 level. The character of interaction of grain yield components influenced the grain yield by 17.2% and 28.3% at single N60-180 and split N90, N150 fertilization levels, respectively. However, such interaction was insignificant at N0 level. The growth and development of spring triticale responded to meteorological conditions more sensitively at single N60-180 and split N90, N150 levels than at N0 level. At all N regimes, the weather conditions caused 72.6–83.5% of ears m-2, 46.6–94.1% of grains ear-1 and 84.5–92.7% of thousand grain weight data variation. The interaction of all meteorological factors influenced the grain yield by 25.6% and 40.7% at N60-180 and split N90, N150 levels, respectively.

Key words: fertilization, meteorological factors, nitrogen, yield structure.

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