Effect of macro and micro nutrients on grain yield in chickpea crops at Trangie and Coonamble

Author: | Date: 24 Feb 2015

1 Tamworth Agricultural Institute, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Tamworth NSW 2340
2 Trangie Agricultural Research Institute, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Trangie NSW 2823

Take home message

  • Phosphorus was the limiting nutrient at Trangie
  • If any single nutrient is lacking or not adequately balanced with other nutrients, crop growth may be suppressed or inhibited
  • The application of macro and micro nutrients to a crop that was both moisture and temperature stressed led to a reduction in yield

Introduction

There are seventeen (17) essential elements required by crop plants for optimal growth and development. These nutrients are commonly split into two categories, macronutrients, when required in high amounts and micronutrients, when required in smaller amounts. While the micronutrients are required in relatively small quantities, they are as important as macronutrients. If any single nutrient is lacking or not adequately balanced with other nutrients, crop growth may be suppressed or inhibited (Mengel et al., 2001).

The northern NSW cropping region has been under continuous cropping for many years and this has led to a decline in the soil nutrient pool mainly through nutrient export in plant products. A typical 2 t/ha chickpea crop will remove (per ha) approximately 66 kg N, 6.4 kg P, 18 kg K, 4 kg S, 3.2 kg Ca, 2.8 kg Mg, 0.68 kg Zn, 0.68 kg Mn and 0.014 kg Cu (Grain Legume Handbook, 2008).

There was a need to look at nutritional responses in chickpeas over a range of macro and micro nutrients, beyond simply P responses. Trials were established at 8 sites across the northern and central cropping belt of NSW in 2014 and this paper will report on two trials conducted by NSW DPI in the central west at Trangie and Coonamble.

Methods

Chickpea cultivar PBA HatTrick was sown at all sites.

Nutrients were applied in a nutrient omission format. In nutrient omission trials, one nutrient is deliberately omitted in each treatment, while all other nutrients are applied at rates considered as non-limiting. It is therefore not possible to determine optimum nutrient application rates directly from the results of these trials.

The 12 treatments were; Zero nutrients, All nutrients, - N, - P, - K, - Ca, - B, - Cu, - Zn, - Mn,
 - Mg, - Fe.

Application method varied between nutrients. Both P and N were applied at sowing, at 10 kg P/ha as Trifos and 10 kg N/ha as urea respectively. Ca, Mg, Zn, Mn, Cu and Fe were applied as chelates in a foliar spray.

K was applied as Potassium citrate and B as Boron ethanolamine as foliar sprays. Besides N and P (applied at sowing), all other nutrients were sprayed on the crop at early flowering.

Results

1. Coonamble site

The Coonamble site was located on a grey vertosol soil, tending sodic with depth (> 6% ESP, 10-30 cm). The trial was sown on the 24th of May with adequate soil moisture.

2014 growing season rainfall, 162 mm, was below the long term average (LTA = 179 mm) with October only receiving 5 mm (LTA = 42 mm). Yield was severely affected by the lack of in-crop rainfall with the maximum yield of 850 kg/ha occurring when NO nutrients (Zero treatment) were applied.

Under these dry conditions applying nutrients at flowering led to a 20% decline in grain yield with the “All nutrients” treatment yielding 654 kg/ha (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. The effect of macro and micro nutrients on grain yield in chickpea at Coonamble, 2014

Figure 1. The effect of macro and micro nutrients on grain yield in chickpea at Coonamble, 2014

2. Trangie site

The Trangie experiment was sown on a red brown chromosol on the 28th of May into good moisture conditions at sowing. The crop received only 130 mm during the growing season, well below LTA (180 mm). September and October were very dry with falls of 9.8 mm and 2.6 mm, respectively. Rainfall was well below the LTA for September (31.4 mm) and October (45.7 mm).

Overall yields were reduced due to the lack of in-crop rainfall but there was still a significant response to applied nutrients. The application of a complete set of nutrients (1235 kg/ha) led to a 23% yield increase over the zero treatment (1002 kg/ha) (see Figure 2).

At Trangie the main limiting nutrient was P. This is a classic P response where unless a sufficient rate of P is applied as a non-limiting nutrient, grain yield shows no response to other applied nutrients (Figure 2).

 Figure 2. The effect of macro and micro nutrients on grain yield in chickpea at Trangie, 2014

       Figure 2. The effect of macro and micro nutrients on grain yield in chickpea at Trangie, 2014

3. Cold weather effects

Mean temperatures below 15C have been shown to cause flower abortion (Siddique and Sedgley 1986; Berger et al. 2004; Clarke and Siddique 2004). The 2014 growing season had significant cold weather events causing flowers to abort. 

Coonamble was at 50% flower around the 18th August and 100% flower at the 1st of September when sprays were applied. A significant frost (0C) occurred on the 4th of September, 3 days after spraying, then another cold period (av. 11.5C) occurred from the 17th-18th of September. A late frost at 100% flower production reduced yield significantly. Pod abortion would have occurred during early October due to the extreme dry period.

Trangie was slower in development than Coonamble with 1st flowers appearing on the 1st of September. The frost (-0.8C) event on the 4th of September would have aborted these flowers but more would have been produced after this period. Further flowers would have been lost around the 18th-19th of September due to low temperatures (av. 11C). The later development at the Trangie site allowed it to recover and produce a higher yield compared to the Coonamble site.

Conclusions

  • Late frosts and cold periods during flowering at both sites led to floral abortion and a reduction in yield;
  • Extended dry periods at both sites during September and October led to pod abortion;
  • At Coonamble, application of nutrients to a crop at 100% flowering, followed by a frost and moisture stress, led to a reduction in grain yield compared to the zero nutrient treatment;
  • At Trangie, phosphorous was the limiting nutrient and the application of macro and micro nutrients led to an increase in yield of 23% compared to the zero treatment; 
  • Potential yield at Trangie was reduced due to early frosts and pod abortion due to terminal drought.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Michael Nowland, Jayne Jenkins, Dana Burns and Scott Richards (all NSW DPI) for their technical assistance in the trial program. Thanks to Jason Peters (“Woolingar” Coonamble) and Kelvin Appleyard (NSW DPI, Trangie) for their cooperation in providing trial sites and overall crop management for these trials.

The research undertaken as part of this project is made possible by the significant contributions of growers through both trial cooperation and the support of the GRDC, the author would like to thank them for their continued support.

References

  1. Mengel, K., Kirkby, E.A., Kosegarten, H., Appel, T. (2001). Principles of Plant Nutrition. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
  2. Grain Legume Handbook (2008). GRDC publication
  3. Siddique KHM, Sedgley RH (1986) Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) a potential grain legume for south-western Australia: seasonal growth and yield. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 37, 245–261. doi: 10.1071/AR9860245
  4. Berger JD, Turner NC, Siddique KHM, Knights EJ, Brinsmead RB, Mock I, Edmondson C, Khan TN (2004) Genotype by environment studies across Australia reveal the importance of phenology for chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) improvement. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 55, 1071–1084. doi: 10.1071/AR04104
  5. Clarke HJ, Siddique KHM (2004) Response of chickpea genotypes to low temperature stress during reproductive development. Field Crops Research 90, 323–334. doi: 10.1016/j.fcr.2004.04.001

Contact details

Dr Andrew Verrell
NSW Department of Primary Industries
Ph: 0429 422 150
Email: andrew.verrell@dpi.nsw.gov.au

GRDC Project Code: DAN00171,