Rising demand for this crop's grain on the world market stimulates interest in growing chickpea among domestic farmers too, who are not stopped by the quite high price of seed and the not fully worked out growing technology, in particular in mineral nutrition. ECOORGANIC offers the following foliar feeding scheme for chickpea.
- Seed treatment before sowing: Gros Rootgrowth 1–2 l/t of seed.
- Foliar feeding before the start of budding: Ecoline Molybdenum Complex 1 l/ha at (8–15) true leaves.
- Foliar feeding at budding: Ecoline Boron Premium 1 l/ha + Gros Quicelium 1.5 l/ha.
- Foliar feeding at pod formation: Ecoline Legume Chelates 2.0 l/ha.
This spring we set up a series of trials with a chickpea foliar feeding system using ECOORGANIC fertilizers to establish quantitative parameters of the effect of the proposed feedings on plants. In a small-plot trial in Tarashcha district of Kyiv region we grow chickpea variety Orion. Pre-sowing seed treatment and sowing were done on 25 April 2018. The first step was pre-sowing seed treatment with the special fertilizer Gros Rootgrowth at two doses, 1 l/t and 2 l/t of seed, and a control with no seed treatment with Gros Rootgrowth. As of 22 May 2018 the seedlings already differed visually (photo 1.)
Photo 1. Development of chickpea plants, variety Orion, on 22 May 2018.
The most developed plants, both the aboveground part and the roots, are in the variants with seed treatment before sowing with the special fertilizer Gros Rootgrowth. The numerical data on measurements of individual indicators by trial variant are given in the table. Since the crop is grown in this field for the first time and no treatment with inoculants was done, nodule bacteria colonies have not yet been found on the roots.
Chickpea. Average values of parameters across 3 typical plants as of 22.05.2018.
|
Variant |
Plant height, cm |
Number of leaves, pcs/plant |
Plant weight, grams |
Root length, cm |
Stem thickness near roots, mm |
|
Control |
16 |
12 |
24 |
11,5 |
3 |
|
Variant 1 Gros Rootgrowth 1 l/t of seed |
19 |
13 |
26 |
13 |
5 |
|
Variant 2 Gros Rootgrowth 2 l/t of seed |
21 |
12 |
30 |
16 |
6 |
In this development stage plants have little mass, so for weighing accuracy 3 plants were taken from the middle sample. As the results of the first assessment show, the effect of seed treatment with Gros Rootgrowth showed as increased plant height compared with the control and, accordingly, the weight of the plants themselves. The highest indicators, +5 cm height and +6 g, were obtained in the variant with seed treatment at 2 l/ha. Plants from variants sown with seed treated with Gros Rootgrowth are notable at the first stage for a stronger stem with a greater basal stem thickness than the control. A tendency toward more intensive formation of side shoots is evident. On 22 May foliar feeding with the special fertilizer Ecoline Molybdenum was carried out