AGRICULTURE AND BIOLOGY JOURNAL OF NORTH AMERICA ISSN Print: 2151-7517, ISSN Online: 2151-7525, doi:10.5251/abjna.2016.7.3.121.133

© 2016, ScienceHuβ, http://www.scihub.org/ABJNA

Effect of Chemical, Organic and Bio Fertilizers on Germination, Growth and yield of Wheat (Triticum aestivum. L) Plants Irrigated With Sea Water

Amany S. Al-Erwy*, Sameera O. Bafeel and Abdulmoneam Al-Toukhy

Dept. Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences King Abdul Aziz Univ, KSA

ABSTRACT

Pot experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of chemical, organic and bio-fertilizers on seed germination, growth attributes, yield and yield components of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plants grown under different concentrations of sea water (0%, 20% and 40%). Chemical fertilizer was used at concentrations of 0, 250 and 500 kg/ha; Rhizobium and Azotobacter were used as Biofertilizers; and Humic acid in concentrations of (0, 5 and 10 kg/ha) was used as organic fertilizer. The obtained results showed that high levels of sea water significantly reduced germination percent, plant heights, root length, fresh weights and dry weights of plant shoots and roots as well as relative water content (RWC). In addition, all yield attributes, including number of spikes/m

2, number of grains/spike, weight of grains/spike, weight of 1000 kernel, grain yield/ha

and straw yield/ha, were also negatively affected by sea water treatments, particularly at high ratio of the sea water. On the other side, plant fertilization promoted seed germination, growth parameters and yield components of sea water irrigated-plants. The obtained results indicated that the Organic fertilizer (humic acid) and Bio-fertilizers (Rhizobium and Azotobacter) were the most affective in promoting the growth and enhancing the yield of wheat plants than chemical fertilizers alone at high concentrations of sea water. Overall, the results showed that, biological and organic fertilizers have a significant role in improving growth, yield and yield components of wheat and reducing environmental pollution. KEY WORDS: Wheat, Fertilizers, Growth, Yield.

INTRODUCTION

Water deficiency and salinity stress are major abiotic stresses affecting germination, crop growth and productivity particularly in arid and semi-arid regions.Productivity of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in such regions is limited because drought and salinity conditions affect negatively seed germination and plant growth, both by water supplies and nutrient availability in such soils. Therefore, fertilizer application should be made not only to increase wheat growth and yield by correcting nutrient deficiency, but also to enhance the utilization of stored water (Singh et al., 1975). The productivity and quality of a crop is controlled by many factors, of which the nutrition, especially nitrogen is the most important factor. The goal of using nutrients efficiently in wheat crops nowadays is the primary objective of agriculture, because of the detrimental environmental effects associated with improper fertilizer management and its excessive use (Van de Geijn et al., 1994). The sole use of chemical fertilizers may cause deterioration in soil physical, chemical and biological properties (Khan et al., 2010). The high

cost of chemical fertilizer and unavailability at the time of application further aggravates the economic conditions of farmers. Therefore, other practices are calls for a search for an alternative best fertilizer sources those are economical.

Organic matter in soil improves soil structures, nutrient retention, aeration, soil moisture holding capacity and water infiltration (Mehran et al., 2011). Humic acid (HA) is the active constituent of organic fertilizers (Karakurt et al., 2009), and its application may represent an alternative to conventional soil fertilization and a prompt source of N, especially in semi-arid conditions (Khan et al., 2010). HA can be used as a cheap organic fertilizer source to improve plant growth and yield, and enhance stress tolerance, as well as to improve soil physical properties and complex metal ions (Abdel-Razzak and El-Sharkawy, 2013). In addition, Biofertilizers are important not only for the reduction in quantity of chemical fertilizers but also for getting better yield in sustainable agriculture.

Biofertilizers enhance biological cycles and soil biological (Reddy et al., 2014). Use of soil microorganisms such as Rhizobium and Azotobacter

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which can fix atmospheric nitrogen, synthesis of growth promoting substances or enhancing the decomposition of plant residues to release vital nutrients and increase humic content of soils, will be environmentally begin approach for nutrient management and ecosystem function (Metin et al., 2010). In this regard, Bahrani et al. (2010) reported that application of biofertilizers increased the growth, yield and yield components of wheat plants. Zaki et al. (2007) added that plant height and dry weights (g) increased significantly by the application of biofertilizers. Ahmed et al. (2011) indicated that all the growth characters were significantly affected by inoculation of wheat grain with bio-organic fertilizers. The applications of biofertilizers in agriculture are suggested as a sustainable way of increasing crop yields and economize their production as well (Wali Asal, 2010). Bio-fertilization is very safe for human, animal and environment to get lower pollution and saving fertilization cost. In addition, their application in soil improves soil biota and minimizes the sole use of chemical fertilizers (Jalilian et al., 2012). Application of biofertilizers in agriculture will have greater impact on organic agriculture and also on the control of environmental pollution, soil health improvement and reduction in input use. In addition, The presence effect of humic substances and biofertilizers in soil increase nutrient absorption by augmenting the availability of nutrients in addition to improvement of the physical structure of soil (Reddy et al., 2014).

The objectives of this study were to indicate the effect of irrigation treatments with different concentrations of seawater on wheat germination, growth and yield, and to ascertain the potential of organic fertilizer (HA) and bio fertilizers (Rhizobium sp. and Azotobacter sp.) as a low-cost natural fertilizer to improve growth and yield of wheat plants irrigated with different concentrations of sea water.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Pot experiments were carried out at the King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia, during winter season of 2011/2012. The average daily maximum and minimum temperature were 27/19 C

o,

respectively (according to the Metrological Station in Jeddah). The aim of the study was to determine the effect of chemical fertilizer, bio fertilizer and organic fertilizer on the growth, chemical constituents and productivity of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) plants irrigated with different ratios of seawater.

Procedures:

1- Eighty one (81) pots 40 cm diameter, each was filled with fifteen (15) kilograms sandy soils mixed with perllit and peat moss in the ratio of 2:1:1 irrigated with tap water for one week to remove weeds.

2- The pots were divided into three groups, each group was treated with different kind of fertilizers, Chemical, Bio or Organic fertilizer as followes:

a) Chemical fertilizer "Urea" was used in the rates of 100, 250 and 500 kg/ha. Urea is a complete water-soluble fertilizer.

b) Biofertilizer was used in the form of Rhizobium or Azotobacter treatments. Inoculation of the grains with the bio-fertilizer containing N-free living bacteria Rhizobium or Azotobacter was done just before sowing, using Arabic gum (4%) as adhesive material.

C) Organic fertilizer was used in the form of Humic acid (HA) and was applied in the rate of 5, 10 and 20 kg/ha, 7days before sowing and incorporated through soil preparation.

Ech fertilizer treatment was berformed in three replicates with the recommended dose and was irrigated with three levels ( 0%, 20% or 40%) of seawater designed as ratio of seawater.

Measurements

Germination test: An experiment was carried out to test the effect of different concentrations of seawater and fertilizer treatments on germination percentage of weat grains. The experiment was carried out in replicates where grains of each treatment were separately germinated in 15-cm diameter pots (9 grains in each pot), filled with washed clean sand. The pots were placed in the open field under natural conditions and watred at field capacity. After 15 days seedlings were accounted and germination percentages were calculated according to Ellis and Roberts (1980) following the equation:

Germination (%) = (Number of seedlings/number of seeds) X 100

Growth parameters

Plant height and root length: One week before harvest, plants were pulled out the soil and the length of shoots and roots were measured using regular ruler. Data were registered as means of three

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replicates representing each treatment of sea water treatments, with or without fertilization treatments.

Fresh and dry weights: Plant organs were separated and washed cleaned with distilled water. Then, fresh and dry weights of plant shoots and roots were recorded at harvest time. The decision to harvest any particular treatment was based on the need to do so at the beginning of death symptoms and before deaths began to occur. Dry weights were determined after drying in electrical oven at 70

oC until

constant weight. Leaves dropped during water-stress treatment were included (Taiz and Zeiger, 2010).

Water content: Relative water contents (RWC) were calculated according to the following formula:

Where: FW and DW are the fresh weight and the dry weight, respectively.

Yield and its components: At harvest, plants were taken randomly from each treatment to determine the following parameters:

a. Number of spikes/m2, b. Number of grains/spike,

c. weight of grains/spike (g),

d. Weight of 1000 kernel (g), e. Grain yield/ha, and f. Straw yield/ha

Yield components per hectare were calculated by determining the surface area of the pot first and then results were made on the bases of the surface area of a hectare (10.000 m

2).

Statistical analysis: All data were subjected to analysis of variance and significant difference among means were determined according to (Snedecor and Cochran, 1980) with the aid of SPSS softwear. Significant difference among mean were distinguished according to the Duncans, multiple test range (Duncan, 1955). Differences between means were compared at LSD 5%.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Seed germination: Germination rate of wheat seeds was negatively affected by 40% of seawater which decrease germination rate by about 21% compared with control (0% seawater) regardless of the fertilizer treatments, while, the 20% concentration of seawater had a little effect on the germination percentage (2%) in the absence of fertilizer treatments (Fig. 1). A negative relationship (R

2= 94%) between proportion

of cumulative seed germination and concentration of seawater was found. Application of chemical fertilizer, particularly at medium (Chem.2) and high (Chem.3) concentrations, caused an observed decrease in germination percentage of seeds, especially at 20% and 40% of seawater as compared to control. The Chem.3 treatment caused a dcrease of about 26% in germination percentage of seeds grown at 40% of seawater as compared to the effect of Chem3 on seeds graown at 0% seawater.

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Fig.1. Effects of fertilizer treatments on germination (%) of wheat seeds at different concentrations of seawater (Each value is the mean of 3 replicates, vertical lines are SD).

Data showed also that Biofertilizers enhanced seed germination either under normal or salt stress conditions. Germination percentage of salt-untreated seeds showed a slight increase at 0% and 20% of seawater, while this increase (12%) was more pronounced at 40% seawater. Organic fertilizer, particularly Org.2 treatment, caused an improvement in the germination of salt treated or untreated seeds. At 40% seawater, Org.2 treatment improved germination rate by about 8% compared to that recorded at 40% seawater without fertilizer treatments.

Earlier studies showed that salt stress has an adverse effect on germination of many crop seeds (Rahman et al., 2008). This adverse effect on seed germination may be attributed to the osmotic retention of seawater and to specific ionic effects on the protoplasm of the embryo (Datta et al., 2009). It is well known that chemical fertilizers input more salt ions to the growth media thus the osmotic pressure outside the embryo organs increases and, consequently, water is osmotically held in salt solutions, so as the concentration of salt increased water becomes less and less accessible for the embryo to germinate (Rafiq et al., 2006). Salinity with

chemical fertilizer may also reduce imbibitions of water because of lowered osmotic potentials of the medium and causes changes in metabolic activity. Biofertilizers, on the other side, containing living cells of different types of microorganisms are known to help with expansion of the root system and better seed germination (Vessey, 2003). In the present study results indicated that biofertilizers stimulated germination percentage of wheat seeds. Rhizobium and Azotobacter used in this study are free-living N2-fixing bacteria which have the ability to synthesize and secret some biologically active substances that enhance seed germination and improve vigor of the produced seedlings (Bafeel, 2014). Moreover, organic fertilizer improved germination of wheat seeds. It is generally acknowledged that organic matter plays an important role in maintaining a high level of soil fertility. Application of humic acid is observed to be a significant soil organic matter which improves germination and seedling growth (Abdel-Razzak and El-Sharkawy, 2013). The effect of organic fertilizer on germination of Plantago ovata was higher than that of chemical fertilizer.

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Growth Parameters

Shoot and root lengths: Data in Table (1) showed that increasing seawater concentrations caused a gradual decrease in shoot length and root length. A negative correlation between length of plant organs and concentration of seawater was found to be (R

2 =

99%) and (R2= 98%) for roots and shoots,

respectively. In this regard, shoot length decreased by about 11% and 28% at 20% and 40% seawater treatment, respectively, as compared with control plants. Root length was also decreased by about 25% and 58% of control, respectively.

Table 1. Effect of different fertilizer treatments on shoot and root length (cm) of wheat (Triticum aestivum) plants grown under different concentrations of seawater.

Fertilizer treatments

Seawater concentration

0% 20% 40%

Shoot Root Shoot Root Shoot Root

Cont. 84.7±4.6 15.1±1.3 75.4±3.6 11.4±1.7 60.7±4.1 6.3±1.1

Chem.1 89.8±5.2 14.2±1.5 78.7±4.1 12.6±1.3 68.6±3.2 9.8±1.3

Chem.2 91.9±5.5 11.8±1.4 87.5±3.2 12.9±1.2 73.3±2.8 8.3±1.4

Chem.3 95.1±5.7 10.8±1.6 81.5±3.7 11.8±1.4 70.3±3.5 6.6±1.6

Bio.1 90.3±4.3 17.0±1.6 82.3±3.5 12.6±1.3 73.3±3.7 7.9±1.2

Bio.2 98.5±4.2 17.4±1.8 88.8±4.2 13.6±1.2 76.6±2.7 8.2±1.4

Org.1 77.2±3.6 15.1±2.1 71.6±4.3 11.1±1.6 63.3±3.5 6.8±1.4

Org.2 83.8±4.6 13.6±1.5 78.3±4.2 10.4±1.5 66.5±3.2 7.1±1.5

Org.3 90.7±4.5 11.0±1.8 82.4±4.6 11.0±1.7 64.8±2.8 8.1±1.2

LSD 5% 4.23 1.47 3.54 0.75 3.26 0.68

Length of shoot and root enhanced by chemical, organic and bio fertilizer treatments, particularly at 0% seawater. While in seawater treated plants, Chem.1 and Chem.2 only showed more positive effect in enhancing shoot and root length than Chem.3 treatment. In this regard, Chem.1 and Chem.2 treatments caused an increase in shoot length by about 5% and 16%, respectively, at 20% concentration of sea water, while the corresponding increase in root length was about 11% and 13%, respectively. The increase in shoot and root length at Chem.3 treatment was about 8% and 4%, respectively, as compared with 20% sea water treatment without chemical fertilization.

Biofertilizer treatments (Bio.1 and Bio.2) caused an increase in shoot length and root length of seawater irrigated or unirrigated plants. At 20% seawater, shoot length increased by about 9.2% or 17.7% when plants were treated with Bio.1 and Bio.2, respectively; while root lengths were increased by about 10.5% and 19.3% at Bio.1 and Bio.2, respectively. The stimulating effects of Biofertilizer on shoot and root lengths were more obvious on 40% seawater.

A positive relationship between organic fertilizer (HA) concentration and shoot length was observed (Tables 1). The most stimulating effect was recorded at Org.3

treatment, while other HA treatments did not increase the shoot or root length compairing with control treatment. Interestingly, Org.2 and Org.3 treatments caused an obvious enhancement in shoot height and root length of salinity stressed plants. At both treatments stem height and root length of the 20% and the 40% seawater irrigated plants were improved as compared with unfertilized plants irrigated with same levels of seawater.

Fresh and dry weights of shoots: Data recorded in Table (2) clearly indicated that fresh and dry weights of shoots increased at Chem.1 and Chem.2 treatments when plants were grown under 0% concentration of seawater, while Chem.3 treatment showed negative effect on shoot weight as compared to unfertilized control plants. Under seawater treatments, all chemical fertilizer treatments, except Chem.1, caused an observed decrease in the fresh and the dry weights of shoots Fresh and dry weight of Chem.2 treated-shoots was increased by about 33% and 16%, respectively, as compared to unfertilized control plants. While, under seawater irrigation all chemical fertilizer treatments decreased fresh and dry weights of shoots. A negative correlation (R

2)

between seawater concentration and shoot fresh weight and dry weight was found to be R

2 = 96% and

98%, rspectively.

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Table 2. Effect of different fertilizer treatments on fresh and dry weights (g) of wheat (Triticum aestivum) shoots grown under different concentrations of seawater.

Fertilizer treatments

Seawater concentration

0% 20% 40%

Fwt Dwt Fwt Dwt Fwt Dwt

Cont. 3.11±0.77 0.55±0.11 3.05±0.58 0.38±0.11 1.73±0.87 0.28±0.07

Chem.1 3.75±0.81 0.58±0.13 3.21±0.87 0.43±0.12 1.83±0.32 0.31±0.08

Chem.2 4.12±1.32 0.64±0.19 2.83±0.26 0.33±0.16 1.67±0.24 0.26±0.07

Chem.3 2.32±0.57 0.43±0.11 1.75±0.35 0.27±0.07 1.06±0.25 0.18±0.04

Bio.1 4.44±0.84 0.87±0.12 3.97±0.94 0.58±0.09 2.72±0.45 0.40±0.06

Bio.2 4.87±1.34 0.92±0.21 4.05±0.89 0.67±0.11 3.45±0.82 0.45±0.11

Org.1 3.71±0.73 0.64±0.25 3.34±0.34 0.56±0.12 2.06±0.32 0.31±0.08

Org.2 4.22±1.06 0.86±0.23 3.81±0.22 0.74±0.23 2.56±0.52 0.55±0.12

Org.3 4.88±0.72 0.94±0.18 3.95±0.14 0.75±0.11 2.86±0.47 0.62±0.05

LSD 5% 0.98 0.23 0.84 0.17 0.80 0.18

Fresh and dry weights of salt stressed and unstressed wheat plants were improved by Biofertilizer treatments. Weights of salt unstressed shoots increased by about 43% and 58%, respectively, with Bio.1 (Rhizobium) treatment, and by about 57% and 67%, respectively, with Bio.2 (Azotobacter) treatment, as compared to unfertilized plants. Moreover, Biofertilizer treatments tended to ameliorate the harmful effect of salinity on shoot growth even at 40% of seawater. There was a positive relation between organic fertilizer concentration and fresh and the dry weight of shoots either in seawater treatmented or untreated plants. The highest values of shoot fresh and dry weights were recorded at Org.3 treatment.

Fresh and dry weights of roots: Data in Table (3) indicated clearly that effects of seawater and fertilizer treatments on root fresh and dry weights followed nearly a trend similar to that recorded for shoots. Seawater of 20% concentration caused a decrease of about 18% and 24% in root freash and dry weight, respectively, while the 40% caused a decrease of about 39% and 57.6%, respectively, as compared with salt untreated control plants. Correlation (R

2)

between sea water concentration and root fresh weight was = 97%, and root dry weight = 95%.

Applicarion of chemical fertilizer caused improvement in root freash and dry weights either under seawater irrigation or not. Low (Chem.1) and medium (Chem.2) concentrations of chemical fertilizer caused an increase of about 75% and 30%, respectively, in the fresh weight of roots at 20% seawater, as compared

with control plants, while Chem.3 treatments reduced the root fresh weight of 20% seawater treated-plants by about 23% as compared with chemical unfertilized plants grown under same salt treatment.

Root fresh and dry weights were enhanced by Biofertilizer treatments weather plants were irrigated with seawater or unsalted water. In this regard Azotobacter biofertilizer was more effective in improving root growth than Rhizobium biofertilizer. Rhizobium (Bio.1) caused an increase in fresh weight and dry weight of salt unstressed roots by about 50% and 67%, respectively as compared with unfertilized control plants. The corresponding increase with Azotobacter (Bio.2) treatment was 59% and 88%, respectively. Moreover, seawater treated roots showed an enhancement in their fresh and dry weights when plants were treated with biofertilizers. The increase in fresh weigh and dry weight of roots at 40% seawater was noticeable. Organic fertilizer had a positive effect on root growth that increased with increasing concentrations of organic fertilizer. At 0% seawater, Org.1, Org.2 and Org.3 treatments caused an increase of about 57.6%, 68.4% and 76.3%, respectively, in root fresh weight; and about 45.5%, 57.6% and 75.8%, respectively, in root dry weight compared with unfertilized control plants. Under irrigation with seawater, organic fertilizer showed an enhancing effect on root growth. The fresh weight and dry weight of 40% seawater treated roots was increased by about 12% and 56% with Org.3 treatment, as compared with 40% stressed plants without organic fertilizer.

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Table 3. Effect of different fertilizer treatments on fresh and dry weights (g) of wheat (Triticum aestivum) roots grown under different concentrations of seawater.

Fertilizer treatments

Seawater concentration

0% 20% 40%

Fwt Dwt Fwt Dwt Fwt Dwt

Cont. 1.77±0.51 0.33±0.06 1.45±0.37 0.25±0.08 1.08±0.27

Chem.1 2.84±0.53 0.36±0.09 2.54±0.38 0.28±0.09 1.16±0.28 0.16±0.07

Chem.2 3.02±0.58 0.40±0.08 1.89±0.38 0.33±0.11 1.21±0.23 0.22±0.07

Chem.3 2.07±0.46 0.33±0.07 1.12±0.32 0.27±0.07 0.87±0.11 0.18±0.06

Bio.1 2.66±0.62 0.55±0.12 2.23±0.53 0.36±0.08 1.13±0.20 0.23±0.09

Bio.2 2.83±0.73 0.62±0.15 2.30±0.55 0.46±0.17 1.21±0.13 0.28±0.07

Org.1 2.79±0.49 0.48±0.11 1.05±0.22 0.29±0.08 1.12±0.12 0.21±0.04

Org.2 2.98±0.55 0.52±0.13 1.15±0.24 0.32±0.12 1.15±0.13 0.24±0.06

Org.3 3.12±0.61 0.58±0.08 2.19±0.58 0.23±0.04 1.21±0.17 0.25±0.05

LSD 5% 0.79 0.17 0.75 0.14 0.42 0.08

The present study indicated that high concentration of seawater had negative effects on growth parameters. It was clear that in the absence of fertilizer treatments, moderate (20%) and strong (40%) saline water stress caused a significant reduction in plant height, fresh weight and dry weights of shoots and roots compared with non-saline treatment. These results are in agreement with those reported by Hanafy-Ahmed et al. (2008). Suppression of plant growth under saline conditions may either be due to decreased availability of water or to the toxicity of sodium chloride (Hussein et al., 2012). The reduction in dry weight under salinity stress may be attributed to inhibition of hydrolysis of reserved foods and their translocation to the growing shoots. The reduction in plant growth might, also, be attributed to the inhibiting effects of salinity on metabolic processes including, activity of mitochondria and chloroplasts (Ghassemi-Golezani et al., 2012). They suggested that, biosynthesis of chlorophylls might be inhibited by the depressive effect of stress conditions on the absorption of some ions involved in the chloroplast formation, such as Mg and Fe and/or to an increase of growth inhibitors, such as ethylene or abscisic acid production which enhance senescence. Moreover, salinity stress is known to retard plant growth through its influence on several vital factors of plant metabolism, including osmotic adjustment, nutrient uptake, protein and nucleic acid synthesis, photosynthesis (Zaibunnisa, et al., 2002), organic solute accumulation, enzyme activity, hormonal balance, H2O2 generation, lipid peroxidation and reduced water availability (Simaei et al., 2011).

Data showed that, optimal rates of fertilizer application to salt-affected soils partially alleviate the adverse effects of salinity on growth attributes, through mitigating the nutrient demands of salt-stressed plants (Sultana et al., 2001). Many important biomolecules like DNA, RNA and phospholipids contain phosphorus, so fertilizer is essential to increase biosynthesis of nucleic acids and vegetative growth as a consequence (Namvar et al., 2012).

Bio-fertilizers are products containing living cells of different microorganisms that have an ability to convert nutritionally important elements from unavailable to available form through biological processes and are known to help with expansion of the root system and better seed germination (Jala-Abadi et al., 2012). These organisms can play a significant role in fixing atmospheric nitrogen and production of plant growth promoting substances in the soil or rhizosphere and enhance growth and yield (Chen et al., 2011). Organic fertilizers found to improve growth parameters of wheat plants grown under seawater irrigation, as they provide different essential nutrients to promot plant growth (Khan et al. (2010). An early study showed that, organic nutrients increase the abundance of soil organisms by providing organic matter and micronutrients for organisms which aid plants in absorbing nutrients (Sushila and Gajendra, 2000). Application of humic acid (HA) was found to improves plant growth and crop production (Abdel-Razzak and El-Sharkawy, 2013). Our results are in harmony with those reported by Kumar et al. (2012) who found that organic fertilizer increased the plant height, dry matter accumulation and leaf area of wheat (T. aestivum) plants. Therefore, in the development and

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implementation of sustainable agriculture techniques, bio-fertilizers and organic fertilizers have a great importance in alleviating environmental pollution and deterioration of nature (Mehran et al., 2011; Jalilian et al., 2012).

Plant water content (%): Data recorded in Table (4) showed, in general, that water content of shoots is relatively higher than that in roots and this may be attributed to the relatively higher elasticity and elongation characteristics of shoot cells compared to root cells (Salisbury and Ross, 2002). In addition, water content of shoots and roots of unfertilized or fertilized-wheat plants increased at 20% concentration of seawater. The 40% treatment of seawater caused a decrease in WC of shoots and Roots as compared with control plants. It was clear that fertilization of plants caused a reduction in the harmful effect of seawater on plant WC, thus fertilization let to an increase in water content either in shoots or roots of plants irrigated with seawater,

particularly at moderate level of salinity. Biofertilizers and organic fertilizers were more effective than chemical fertilizers in increasing water contents of the plant shoots when grown under high concentration of seawater. In this regard, Bio.1 and Bio.2 treatments increased WC at 40% seawateras compared to Biofertilized plants at 0% seawater. Similarly, Org.1, Org.2 and Org.3 treatments increase WC of 40% seawater treated plants, as compared with organic fertilized plants grown at 0% of seawater. These results are in conformity with those obtained by Shaharoona et al. (2006), who reported that Bio- and Organic fertilizers significantly improved growth characters as a result of enhancing plant water content. Organic fertilizer and Biofertilizer enhanced water contents and growth of potato (Awad, 2002); rice (Naseer and Bali, 2007); Brassica (Datta et al., 2009); pea (El-Desuki et al., 2010) and wheat (Boutraa et al., 2010). Seyedlar et al. (2014) observed that when RWC of wheat plants decreased, growth parameters also decreased.

Table 4. Effect of different fertilizer treatments on water content (%) of shoots and roots of wheat (Triticum aestivum) grown under different concentrations of seawater.

Fertilizer treatments

Seawater concentration

0% 20% 40%

Shoot Root Shoot Root Shoot Root

Cont. 82.3±12.3 81.3±6.5 88.3±9.5 83.7±8.3 83.8±5.6 87.1±9.3

Chem.1 84.2±11.2 83.2±8.4 88.7±11.4 81.8±6.5 84.7±11.2 85.3±10.2

Chem.2 85.9±13.5 82.7±4.8 87.7±6.8 82.5±4.8 86.6±10.3 81.8±4.7

Chem.3 81.5±10.4 82.3±9.2 84.5±8.5 75.9±10.1 83.1±8.4 79.3±6.3

Bio.1 86.6±8.7 82.4±10.2 88.5±12.1 83.8±6.5 80.5±5.9 79.6±9.3

Bio.2 80.2±13.2 78.1±6.7 84.7±9.4 78.1±7.4 87.8±9.5 72.1±7.4

Org.1 78.0±12.5 79.1±5.4 83.2±10.3 72.4±4.8 84.9±7.4 81.3±6.2

Org.2 76.8±12.2 78.8±4.6 80.1±9.7 72.2±9.3 78.5±8.5 79.1±7.4

Org.3 83.3±11.5 84.6±5.7 84.4±6.9 89.5±5.2 88.2±4.9 84.3±9.1

LSD 5% 2.25 1.66 2.18 2.45 2.11 2.55

Yield and yield components

Number of spikes and grains: Data revealed that seawater had an adverse effect on yield components of wheat crop (Table 5). Number of spikes/m2 and number of grains/spike were decreased at 20%

seawater treatment by about 6.7% and 7.2%, respectively, as compared with control plants. Furthermore, 40% seawater resulted in a reduction of about 45.5% and 44.3%, respectively, as compared with control.

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Table 5. Effect of different fertilizer treatments on number of spikes of wheat (Triticum aestivum) plants grown under different concentrations of seawater.

Fertilizer treatments

Number of spikes/m2 and grains/spike

0% 20% 40%

spike/m2 grain/spike spike/m

2 grain/spike spikes/m

2 grain/spike

Cont. 3.2±0.34 32.6±2.12 3.0±0.42 30.4±2.11 2.2±0.36 22.6±2.42

Chem.1 3.8±0.45 45.5±2.16 3.4±0.22 41.2±2.62 3.0±0.41 34.1±2.67

Chem.2 5.5±0.46 52.4±3.22 4.7±0.32 46.4±3.12 3.8±0.29 37.3±2.11

Chem.3 4.6±0.39 47.2±2.66 4.1±0.43 43.2±2.44 3.2±0.40 34.9±2.32

Bio.1 4.5±0.27 43.2±2.18 4.0±0.36 36.5±2.18 3.2±0.42 30.3±2.19

Bio.2 4.6±0.28 45.3±3.32 4.2±0.45 40.6±3.10 3.7±0.33 34.2±2.32

Org.1 3.9±0.33 38.2±2.52 3.5±0.28 35.5±2.13 2.8±0.21 30.2±2.15

Org.2 4.2±0.45 44.3±3.04 3.9±0.32 40.2±3.22 3.1±0.42 33.2±3.14

Org.3 4.6±0.33 46.6±3.50 4.1±0.40 42.1±3.52 3.9±0.27 34.4±2.42

LSD5% 0.76 3.15 0.42 3.56 0.35 3.11

Fertilizer applications decreased the adverse effect of seawater on yield components with significant differences found between levels of chemical, Bio- and organic fertilization. Maximum number of spikes and grains was obtained when the three types of fertilizer were used in the recommended amounts. In this regard most effective treatments were Chem.2, Bio.2 and Org.3, at which Number of spikes/m2 increased by about 72%, 44% and 43%, respectively, in number of spikes/m

2 and by about 60.8%, 39%

and 43%, respectively, in the number of grains/spike as compared with unfertilized control plants. Moreover, number of spikes and grains of seawater treated plants increased significantely with fertilization treatments. In this regard, at sea water concentration of 40% the Chem.2 treatment caused an increase of about 73% in number of spikes/m2 and about 65% in number of grains/spike, as compared with unfertilized plants grown under the same concentration of seawater. The corresponding increases at Bio.2 treatment were about 68% in number of spikes, and 51% in number of grains, respectively; and Org.3 treatment resulted in an increase of about 77% in number of spikes and 52% in number of grains in 40% seawater as compared with seawater-treated plants in the absence of fertilization.

Early reports showed that number of spikes per square meter is affected by environmental conditions and farm management, so any changes in soil fertility management like balance or imbalance of fertilization

or the use of organic materials, etc. has a feedback on production and sustainability of ecosystem. As the number of grain per spike affected by spike growth condition, it can be said that, due to the shortage of mineral nitrogen in low fertilizer treatments and use of nitrogen by soil microbes to decompose organic matter, number of grain in spike in control condition reduced (Mooleki et al., 2004).

Weight of grains: Weight of grains/spike and 1000 grains decreased by about 16.7% and 27.4%, respectively at 20% seawater; and by about 40% and 45%, respectively at 40% seawater (Table 6). Data presented in the table indicated that fertilizers increased weight of grains/spike and 1000 grain weight. Most increases were obtained at Chem.2, Bio.2 and Org.3 treatments, at which weight of grains increased by about 50%, 22% and 29%, respectively, and weight of 1000 grain icreased by about 41.6%, 24.3%, and 25.4%, respectively, as compared with unfertilized control plants. Weight of grains/spike and the 1000 grains weight of seawater treated plants enhanced with Chemical, Bio and Organic fertilizers. At 40% seawater, the Chem.2, Bio.2 and Org.3 treatments resulted in an increase of about 41.4%, 40.6% and 40.5%, respectively, in weight of grains/spike.

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Table 6. Effect of different fertilizer treatments on weight of grains of wheat (Triticum aestivum) plants grown under different concentrations of seawater.

Fertilizer treatms

Weight of grains/spike (g) and 1000 grains weight

0% 20% 40%

Grains wt 1000 wt Grains wt 1000 wt Grains wt 1000 wt

Cont. 2.8±0.33 28.4±2.16 2.4±0.24 22.3±3.13 2.0±0.18 19.6±2.06

Chem.1 3.6±0.35 34.4±2.66 3.1±0.28 30.4±3.17 2.5±0.23 22.4±2.23

Chem.2 4.2±0.38 40.2±3.11 3.7±0.34 35.2±3.32 3.1±0.22 27.7±2.43

Chem.3 3.8±0.24 36.1±2.45 3.2±0.30 33.4±3.51 2.7±0.25 23.5±2.11

Bio.1 3.3±0.22 32.2±2.46 3.0±0.24 29.7±2.16 2.6±0.24 22.7±2.20

Bio.2 3.4±0.25 35.3±2.56 3.1±0.31 30.1±3.10 2.8±0.22 23.2±2.03

Org.1 2.9±0.28 30.4±2.18 2.6±0.22 23.8±2.61 2.1±0.19 20.4±2.24

Org.2 3.2±0.31 33.2±2.46 3.0±0.21 28.5±2.23 2.5±0.23 23.3±2.26

Org.3 3.6±0.34 35.6±2.32 3.2±0.30 31.2±3.11 2.8±0.26 26.2±2.53

LSD5% 0.35 3.11 0.25 3.23 0.22 2.65

Grain and straw yield: Analysis of variance showed that salinity has unfavorable effect on grain and straw yield of wheat plants (Table 7). In this respect grain yield and straw yield were decreased by about 11.4% and 5.2%, respectively, when plants were treated with 20% concentration of seawater, and by about 47.7% and 31.7%, respectively, at 40% seawater comparing with control plants. Significant positive effects of Chemical, Bio- and Organic fertilized treatments on grain and straw yield were recorded. Maximum weights of grains and straw were obtained at Chem.2 (66.7% and 24.3%), Bio.2 (15.5%, and 8.1%,) and Org.3 (26.9% and 8.2%), respectively, as compared with unfertilized control plants. Chemical, bio and organic fertilizers alleviated the harmful effect of salinity on the weight of grains/ha. At 40% seawater, Chem.2 Bio.2 and Org.3 treatments improved grain yield/ha by nearly 31%, 32% and 37%, respectively, as compared with unfertilized plants under 40% sea water. These results are similar to those reported by Baqual and Das, (2006) and Mirvat et al. (2006) who showed that use of differnt fertilizers can amend physical and chemical properties of soil and increase plant uptake of nutrients and thus increase grain and straw yields.

It is well known that salinity stress limits crop yield particularly in arid and semiarid regions (Zaki et al., 2012). Wheat yield is significantly reduced in the

saline conditions when compared with the normal condition. Biological yield is the mutual contribution of yield components such as the number of tillers per unit area, plant height, number of grains per spike, and grain weight. Any factor causing change in these components will reflect change in biological yield. Applying fertilizers resulted in a significant increase in yield and yield contributing factors in both saline and non-saline treatments as shown in the results. The current findings were also supported by (Ali et al. (2012) on rice and Shirazi et al. (2010) on wheat, who found that nitrogen fertilization counteracted the adverse effects of salt stress, which provides significant benefits to plants at various growth stages. Reason for that was, N enhances gas exchange during photosynthesis, which increases photosynthetic activity and improves yield and yield components (Daneshmand et al., 2012; Kandil et al., 2011).

In a recent study, Abd El-Razek and El-Sheshtawy (2013) reported that biological fertilizers have significant role in improving yield and yield components of wheat and bio-fertilizers in combination of chemical fertilizers may be useful to increase the yield and reduce environmental pollution. Organic fertilizer showed a positive effect on yield of wheat either under normal or saline condition.

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Table 7. Effect of different fertilizer treatments on grain and straw yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum) plants grown under different concentrations of seawater.

Fertilizer treatments

Grain and Straw yield (kg/ha)

0% 20% 40%

Grain Straw Grain Straw Grain Straw

Cont. 1860±34 4450±56 1670±31 4230±52 1260±24 3380±46

Chem.1 2200±46 4680±64 1970±32 4360±53 1640±26 3620±44

Chem.2 3100±72 5530±68 3100±39 5130±59 2150±32 3910±46

Chem.3 2550±42 4820±54 2640±28 4440±46 1820±30 3750±52

Bio.1 2100±40 4750±52 1880±25 4330±52 1650±32 3450±46

Bio.2 2150±38 4810±46 1850±30 4410±47 1670±34 3520±48

Org.1 1950±32 4670±45 1780±32 4350±43 1540±32 3650±44

Org.2 2180±37 4720±48 1940±36 4520±45 1620±43 3720±52

Org.3 2360±43 4810±35 2100±44 4580±55 1730±33 3760±54

LSD5% 165 211 130 185 110 155

These results are in line with Delfine et al. (2005), who reported that application of HA caused a transitional production of plant dry matter. Khan et al. (2010) found that humic acid treatments and chemical fertilization resulted in an increase in the yield and yield components of wheat when grown under shortage of water supply. The use of Bio and Organic fertilizers may not only help in recycling of organic waste causing environmental pollution but also conserve a rich pool of nutrient resources, which can reduce the sole dependence on chemical fertilizers.

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTION

1. Seawater significantly reduced growth and productivity of wheat crop.

2. The yield components, including number of spikes, grain yield, weight of 1000 grains and straw yield, were negatively affected by high ratio of seawater.

3. Plant fertilization promotes growth and yield of salt stressed wheat under seawater.

4. Bio and organic fertilizers were most affective in promoting growth and wheat yield at high seawater treatments.

SUGGESTION: We suggest studying the effects of mixure of the three fertilizers in different rations, instead of using each fertilizer separately, on wheat growth and yield.

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