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Assessment of the Effects of Environmental Factors on the Response of Wheat to Fertilizer in On-farm Trials in a Mediterranean Type Environment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

M. Pala ,
A. Matar  and
A. Mazid
M. Pala
Affiliation:
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Aleppo, Syria
A. Matar
Affiliation:
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Aleppo, Syria
A. Mazid
Affiliation:
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Aleppo, Syria
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Summary

A series of researcher-managed wheat fertilizer trials was conducted on representative farmers' fields across northwest Syria between 1986 and 1990. Wheat grain and straw yields were strongly correlated with seasonal (October-May) rainfall, almost irrespective of soil fertility, crop sequence or fertilizer rate, with a highly significant response to nitrogen fertilizer which increased with increasing rainfall and decreasing initial soil mineral-nitrogen values. These results were summarized in regression equations which express yield in terms of fertilizer rates, seasonal rainfall and their interactions. The equations with applied nitrogen and seasonal rainfall were the most appropriate for determining fertilizer needs. Economic analysis indicated that all fertilizer treatment rates were profitable under existing price conditions and that fertilizer use would still be beneficial for a nitrogen price up to three times higher than that of the price of grain (weight for weight) with a seasonal rainfall of 250 mm, and up to six times higher with a seasonal rainfall of 450 mm.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 32 , Issue 3 , July 1996 , pp. 339 - 349
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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References

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