The Effect of Genotype, Climatic Conditions and Nitrogen Fertilization on Yield and Grain Protein Content of Spring Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

Cultivation of spring wheat varieties has expanded into areas with abundant winters where winter wheat is not suitable. Due to lack of research in Romania regarding the influence of different factors on hard red spring wheat, the present study aimed at a better understanding of the influence of genotype, climatic conditions and nitrogen fertilization on the spring wheat yield and quality, and to analyse the correlations between grain yield and grain protein content. Experiences were conducted from 2015 to 2018 on two levels of N fertilization (50 and 100 kg ha-1) at Agricultural Research and Development Station Turda. Biological material consisted of 19 genotypes, four of local origin and fifteen of foreign origin, from three different varieties (ferrugineum, lutescens, erythrospermum). The results indicate that the three experimental years were more important in the interactions with the genotypes than was the N fertilization, for both yield and protein content. The most productive cultivars with good stability were ‘Feeling’ and ‘SG 5-01’, and the most valuable varieties regarding the protein content were ‘Pădureni’, ‘Corso’ and ‘GK Tavasz’. A high dose of N assured a high yield and good quality for all cultivars. Although negative correlations were found between production and protein content in HRSW, there were found cultivars that show positive regressions of protein content, such as ‘Pădureni’, ‘Feeling’ and ‘Lona’.