G. Panayotova, A. Stoyanova
Abstract. During the period 2008 – 2010 the response of durum wheat cultivar Progress, grown on Eutric Vertisols at the field of the Field Crops Institute, Chirpan, Bulgaria to foliar feeding with universal liquid fertilizer MaxGrow was studied. The fertilizer was applied once and twice during tillering – beginning of stem elongation stage at doses of 3 and 5 l/ha, alone and in combination with N120 fertilization. The results showed that foliar feeding with MaxGrow improved growth, yield and grain quality and was an effective agronomic activity for durum wheat. Under single foliar feeding with 3 and 5 l/ha the average grain yield increased by 3.6 to 10.2 % over the check, whereas at twofold spraying with the same doses yields increased by more than 9.9 and 15.5 %. The liquid fertilizer MaxGrow can be successfully used at a dose of 5 l/ha for durum wheat feeding. After combined foliar and N fertilization the grain yield exceeded the standard N120 fertilization by 0.12–0.22 t.ha-1 and for the same period it reached 4.27 t.ha-1. MaxGrow had a favorable effect on the grain quality. Under the influence of MaxGrow and nitrogen fertilization, the plant height at the end of vegetation exceeded by 24.6–26.2 % compared to the water check, the test weight ranged from 79.98 to 80.73 kg.hl-1, the 1000 kernel weight increased by 5.6–7.0 %, vitreousness – by 40.7 to 48.8 %, the crude protein content – to 24.8 % and wet gluten – to 14.9 % over the water control.