Effect of fertilization and agrochemicals on some qualitative characters of winter wheat

In field experiments established in the years of 1995 - 1997 in maize production area on degraded chernozem with mildly acid soil reaction the effect of agrochemicals on some qualitative characters of wheat grain was tested. The long-term average of the experimental site is 9.2 degree C per year, 15.5 degree C per vegetation period, rainfall 593 nun per year and 358 per vegetation period. Silage maize was used as a forecrop. The Blava variety used was fertilized with 3-level N fertilization (0, 50, 150 kg/ha) and against harmful agents the following pesticides and their combinations were used: the control variant (zero treatment), complete protection (herbicide, fungicide, growth stimulant), herbicide + growth stimulant, herbicide + fungicide, fungicide + growth stimulant and separate applications of herbicide, fungicide and growth stimulant. Wheat was sown at the seed rate of 4.0 mil. of germinable grains and the interrow width of 125 mm. The fertilization with nitrogen significantly affected the protein content in wheat grain (table 2). The highest protein content in the grain was reached at the highest nitrogen dose. Apart from fertilization, the weather also had positive effect. In 1997, when the lowest yields of grain were reached (table 1 ), the protein content was at the lowest level, too. The highest was in the yield in 1995, when the grain yield was the highest as well. Pesticides did not have significant effect on protein content in the grain, but the highest was found at separate fungicide application. The application of fungicide together with the growth stimulant resulted in protein content decrease in the grain although the yield was the highest. In the unfavourable year the protein content may have been negatively affected with the growth stimulant. Like protein content, the gluten content was also the most affected by nitrogen fertilization and the highest gluten content was obtained at the highest N dose. The weather in the individual years was also significant and in 1997, which was unfertile, the highest wet gluten content was scored. The high nitrogen dose in the unfertile year 1997 significantly increased the wet gluten content. In 1996 there were minimum differences between individual nitrogen doses and gluten content (table 3) and in 1997 at zero N dose higher gluten content in grain was found than in 1996 at the highest N dose. Significantly highest gluten content was reached at interaction of 150 kg N x herbicide and fungicide, the lowest at the complete treatment and zero N dose. The sedimentation test was the character which reacted to the application of agrochemicals the most (table 4). Significantly favourable effect appeared at the complete pesticide treatment and separate herbicide application. On the contrary, the common herbicide and growth stimulant application had significantly negative effect. The effect of fertilization, although significant, shows that fertilization is more effective rather in the interaction with pesticides and the weather because at 50 kg N dose it was lower than at the zero one and even at I50 kg it was on the significance limit. Sedimentation positively reacted to the higher nitrogen dose at the complete use of means of wheat protection