A New Fertilization Approach for Bread Wheat in the Mediterranean Environment: Effects on Yield and Grain Protein Content

Abstract

Plant biostimulants represent an innovative and sustainable solution to address the challenges of the future agriculture, especially when they are used to improve yield and quality of staple crops. The objective of this research was to study, over three consecutive seasons, the effect of a novel fertilization plan (Thesis 2, T2) on the productivity and protein content of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), as compared to the traditional fertilization pattern (Thesis 1, T1), commonly used in Tunisia. T2 was based on the use of a pre-sowing soil bioenhancer (SBE, commercially known as ‘Terios’) and a topdressing with foliar bio-stimulant (FBS, commercially known as ‘Celerios’), obtained by nanotechnology transformation of Y-CaCO3 minerals (called ‘vaterite’); while T1 was based on the use of diammonium phosphate (DAP) at pre-sowing and ammonium nitrate (AN) during the growing season. FBS was applied two times each season and at one rate (3 kg ha−1). In each farm and experimental year, the following traits were recorded: plant height (cm), whole aerial biomass (t DM ha−1), grain yield (t ha−1, 13% moisture content), harvest index, grain weight (mg), spike density (number of spikes per m2), grain protein content (%). T2 protocol slightly, but significantly, increased yield, yield components and grain protein content, while it decreased plant height at harvest. These results suggest that the use of FBS could be of great interest for the cultivation of bread wheat under Mediterranean climatic conditions, as it can make plant nutrients rapidly available even when the uptake from the soil is hindered by water scarcity.

Codium fragile (Suringar) Hariot as Biostimulant Agent to Alleviate Salt Stress in Durum Wheat: Preliminary Results from Germination Trials

“…Therefore, the ambitious target of the primary sector for the future (and present) is to produce more food while impacting less on natural resources. In agriculture, efforts are being made in different directions including the reduction of chemical fertilizers’ use [ 28 , 29 , 30 ]. In this context, biostimulants are receiving a lot of attention from both researchers and farmers as natural substances able to enhance crop performances [ 31 , 32 , 33 ].…”

Discriminating among Alternative Dressing Solutions for Cereal Seed Treatment: Effect on Germination and Seedling Vigor of Durum Wheat

“…A possible solution to help reach this fundamental goal is the use of biostimulants. These products are garnering increasing attention among researchers and farmers due to recent market trends and their capabilities to enhance crop performance, especially under abiotic stresses [25]. Seed treatment with biostimulants and/or micronutrients appears to be a sustainable and economically valid option to ensure good crop establishment in different conditions.…”

Too Salty or Toxic for Use: A Tale of Starter Fertilizers in Agronomic Cropping Systems

“…The fundamental role of starter fertilizers in providing immediate nutrient access to emerging crop roots, increasing the concentration of relatively immobile nutrients (P and K) in the rhizosphere, improving early-season nutrient uptake, inducing root growth and favourable rhizospheric compounds, limiting nutrient losses and enhancing crop pro-duction and productivity is well documented [9,[16][17][18]. Learning from the soil's memory, starter fertilizers take advantage of placement, formulation, and timing to impact seed-crop growth and development [17,[19][20][21]. These different starter fertilizer placements include broadcast, banded (subsurface) starter, or in-furrow (fertilizer-seed contact or pop-up), and a combination of banded and seed placement (Figure 2), which are super-imposed based on various fertilizer recommendations [22][23][24][25].…”

“…From the fertilizer scientist's perspective, improper fertilizer recommendation, placement, and management in crop production may become the primary factors limiting global plant stand and its establishment, with the most substantial consequences in crop yields. Therefore, efforts to improve crop stand and lessen the severity and incidence of salt injury, pH changes in the seed germination zone, and ammoniacal-N toxicity needs balanced starter fertilization, which becomes the fulcrum for sustainable global food crop production [5,6,11,19,38,39]. Knowledge of the importance of starter fertilizers and their implications as influenced by frequent environmental conditions and management practices remains essential for sustainable and socio-economics of human livelihoods for successful global food production and productivity under climate change.…”