Effects of Planting Date and Levels of Fertilizer Nitrogen on the Growth and Yield of Wheat in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia PDF

Keywords

wheat, Saudi Arabia, fertilizer

Abstract

Agronomic research on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia is limited. Field experiments were conducted in Al-Hassa area to study the effects of planting date and nitrogen fertilizer on the growth and yield of the wheat variety Arz. Treatments included early and late November and early and Late December, and three fertilizer nitrogen levels, 40, 80 and 120 kgN/ha. Final plant height and weight increased with early sowing and higher fertilizer levels. Flag leaf area and concentration of chlorophyll in the leaves were indicators of higher photosynthetic activity. Grain yield increased significantly as the level of fertilizer nitrogen increased, and decreased as sowing was delayed. The number of kernels per spike was increased by nitrogen in both seasons and by early sowing in the second seasons. Kernel weight significantly increased with early sowing. It was concluded that early November is the optimum sowing date and nitrogen levels of 120 kg/ha or more result in high yields.