The Effect of Humic Acid Foliar Application on some Qualitative Characteristics and Micronutrients Accumulation in the Shoot and Grain of Triticale (X Tritico-secale Wittmack)

In order to increase the quality of agricultural products and improve healthy food production systems, application of organic fertilizers has become very important in agroecosystems. To investigate the effect of different concentrations and time of humic acid foliar application on the qualitative characteristics and shoot and grain micronutrients content of Triticale, an experiment was conducted at the Research Field of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan during the 2017-2018 growing season. The experimental design was a split plot based on the randomized complete block design with four replications. Treatments included the time of foliar application at four levels (tillering, stem elongation, flag leaf, anthesis) in the main plot and spraying concentrations at four levels (0, 200, 400 and 600 mg L-1) in the sub plots. The results showed that the foliar application of humic acid at the flag leaf and anthesis stages had the greatest impact on the plant physiological traits. The highest chlorophyll b content, leaf area index and total chlorophyll (SPAD) were obtained from the application of 600 mg L-1 humic acid and the highest chlorophyll a content was gained from the spraying of 400 mg L-1. The maximum grain iron (40.44 mg kg-1) was related to the spraying of 200 mg L-1   of fertilizer at the tillering stage. The highest protein yield (745.65 kg ha-1) was obtained from the foliar application of 200 mg L-1 humic acid in the flag leaf stage. The highest amount of manganese (30.73 mg kg-1) was related to the application at the stem elongation stage and the concentration of 200 mg L-1. Based on the findings of this study, humic acid foliar application can increase the accumulation of micronutrients in plant and improve the qualitative traits of triticale.