Evaluation of mycorrhiza and phosphorus application on chickpea yield under different tillage methods in dryland conditions

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Dryland Agricultural Research Institute, Sararood Branch, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Kermanshah, Iran.

2 Department of Plant Production and Genetic, Faculty of Science and Agricultural Engineering, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

10.22092/idaj.2023.363234.412

Abstract

Introduction: One of the principles of sustainable agriculture is the implementation of conservation agriculture, which includes the three principles of minimum tillage, permanent soil cover with plant residues and crop rotation with the aim of reducing the negative effects of conventional agricultural activities. In fact, it is a solution to increase sustainable productivity along with preserving the environment.
Methodology: To investigate the applications of mycorrhiza in no-till and minimum-till systems, an experiment was conducted on chickpea (Mansour cultivar) as a split plot based on a randomized complete blocks design with three replications in the research farm of the Dryland Agricultural Research Sub-Institute during 2020-2022 cropping seasons. Cultivation system no-till and minimum tillage were in the main plots and five treatments of mycorrhiza application, mycorrhiza + half of the recommended amount of phosphorus, mycorrhiza + full amount of recommended phosphorus, full amount of recommended phosphorus and control were as the sub-plots.
Research findings: The results showed that the interaction between tillage and phosphorus fertilizer was significant on yield, yield components, harvest index and plant height. The highest grain yield, biological yield and straw yield were 552, 1022 and 470 kg per hectare, respectively and the number of pods per plant (14 pods), the number of seeds per plant (12 seeds) and the 100-grains weight (37 grams) were obtained under direct seeding and combined application of mycorrhiza and half of the recommended amount of phosphorus fertilizer at the time of planting. Grain yield had a positive and significant correlation with the number of pods per plant, the number of grains per pod, and the 100-kernel weight. In general, the results showed that in the no-till system and the application of mycorrhiza along with half of the recommended amount of phosphorus fertilizer, i.e. 15 kg per hectare, the grain yield, biological yield and yield components of chickpea had the highest average. It is very important to implement no-till cultivation by increasing beneficial soil microorganisms and maintaining soil moisture in drylands.

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