Effects of Vermicompost Leach Liquor on Yield and Quality of Wheat

Guosheng LI,Heliang HUA,Youbing KONG,Yinfang TIAN

Yangzhou University,Yangzhou 225009,China

In high yielding cultivation of wheat,improving the yield,quality and seed performance is an effective way to increase filling rate and filling duration of wheat at late growth stage.A large number of studies have shown thatincreasing grain weight is an important way to improve the yield[1-5],while the increase of grain weight lies in the improvement of filling rate.The contribution rate of filling rate to grain weight formation varies among different wheat varieties,but it has become a consensus that grain weight can be improved by increasing filling rate[6-8].The improvement of wheat grain is generally affected by environmental conditions, variety characteristics and cultivation measures.The excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer may lead to reduction in 1000-grain weight and quality of wheat[9-11].

As an excellent organic fertilizer,vermicompost has been widely applied in preparation of crop cultivation substrate,inhibition of soil borne diseases,animalfeeding and environmental restoration[12].Studies have shown that vermicompost is rich in bacteria,actinomyces,fungi and hormonal substances and can be used as a lowcarbon,environmentally friendly,highquality,low-costing organic fertilizer.At present,most studies about vermicompost are focused on substrate preparation, environmental governance and animal breeding[13-18].However,little information is available on improving crop productivity and resource use efficiency by foliar treatment with vermicompost leach liquor.In this study,natural pollution-free fresh vermicompost was soaked to prepare vermicompost leach liquor,which was sprayed on leaves of wheat after blooming stage to investigate the effects of vermicompost leach liquor on quality and yield of wheat,aiming at providing theoretical basis for realizing high-efficiency and high-yield production of wheat.

Materials and Methods

Overview of the experimental area

During 2013-2014,the experiment was carried out in the experimental field of experimental farm in Yangzhou University.The experimental soil belonged to loam soil,containing 14.8 g/kg organic matter,98.7 g/kg rapidly-available potassium,44.5 g/kg rapidly-available phosphorus,and 66.6 g/kg hydrolyzable nitrogen.

Experimental materials

Medium gluten wheatcultivar Yangmai 21 was used as the experimental material.Fresh vermicompost was soaked with clean water(1∶10)for 24 h.The clear supernatant was collected as vermicompost leach liquor.

Experimental design

Wheat seeds were sown on October 28.The density ofbasic seedlings was 2.15×106plants/hm2,and the row spacing was 25 cm.The area of experimental plot was 20 m2.Each plot was applied with 150 kg/hm2phosphate fertilizer (P5O2)and 75 kg/hm2potassium fertilizer(K2O)as base fertilizer.In addition,180 kg/hm2nitrogen fertilizer was applied with a base fertilizer-topdressing fertilizer ratio of 6:4.The cultivation management measures in experimental field were consistent with general high-yield cultivation measures.Within one week after blooming,wheat leaves were sprayed uniformly on a sunny day.A random arrangementasemployed with three replications.Treatment A:750 kg/hm2vermicompost leach liquor;treatment B:750 kg/hm2clean water.

Determination items and methods

Determination of yield traitsAt mature stage,500 individual spikes were surveyed to investigate spike number,grain numberdistribution per spike,grain number,1 000-grain weight and actual yield.

Determination of quality traits①Determination of protein content.At mature stage,wheat grains were collected to determine grain nitrogen content by indophenol blue colorimetry,thereby calculating grain protein content according to the following formula.Grain protein content=Grain nitrogen content×5.7.② Determination of sedimentation volume.The sedimentation volume was determined using a graduated cylinder striker.③Determination of starch content.At mature stage,wheat grains were collected to determine amylose and amylopectin contents with dual wavelength method, thereby calculating total starch content according to the following formula.Total starch content=Amylose content+Amylopectin content．④ Determination of wet gluten content.The content of wet gluten was determined using JJJM54S gluten determination apparatus.

Data processing

The variance analysis and comparison of experimental data were performed with Excle2003 and DPS software.

Results and Analysis

Effects ofvermicompostleach liquor on distribution characteristics of wheat grains

The number of fertile florets could satisfy the requirement for high-yield cultivation,butthe developmental state of fertile florets at late growth stage was the key factor posing a direct impact on the formation of the final yield.As shown in Fig.1,in vermicompost leach liquor treatment,the total number of grains at middle spike positions was lower than that in control,exhibiting no significant difference;the number of grains at the 1stand 2ndspike positions in the base was higher than that in control;especially,wheat grains at the 2ndspike position in vermicompost leach liquor treatment were one grain more than that in control averagely;the number of grains at upper spike positions from the 11thposition to the top demonstrated a gradually descending order;especially,the number of grains at the top was 0,which was remarkably lower than that in control.This was basically consistent with the developmental characteristics of wheat grains because grains at middle spike positions were developed preferentially and formed superior grains,while grains at upper spike positions were developed at latest and formed multiple inferior grains.The results indicated that vermicompost leach liquor could promote rapid filling of grains and inhibit development ofinferior grains,which was consistent with Luo et al[6].

Effects ofvermicompostleach liquor on grain number per spike and grain weight per spike of wheat

As shown in Table 1,vermicompost leach liquor could inhibit the development of wheat grains.In vermicompost leach liquor treatment,the average grain number per spike was reduced by 2.1% (3.6 grains)compared with control,exhibiting no significant difference.Moreover,the number ofinferiorgrains in vermicompost leach liquor treatment was reduced compared with control.However,differed from common foliar fertilizers,vermicompost leach liquor did not increase grain number,which was related with a variety of biologically active factors in vermicompost leach liquor.The results indicated that vermicompost leach liquor could regulate the number of wheat grains and transport limited nutrients to superior grains,thus ensuring the consistency of grain development.

Table 1 Effects of vermicompost leach liquor on yield structure and yield of wheat

Table 2 Effects of vermicompost leach liquor on the quality of wheat

In addition,grain weight per spike in vermicompost leach liquor treatment was 6.4% higher than that in control,indicating thatvermicompostleach liquor exerted a significant effect on optimization of grain development.

Effects ofvermicompostleach liquor on 1 000-grain weight of wheat

At present,no consistent conclusion has been drawn on the main approaches to increase 1 000-grain weightin high-yield cultivation of wheat,but the positive correlation between filling rate and grain weight formation has already been clarified.As shown in Table 1,spraying vermicompost leach liquor after blooming stage of wheat significantly enhanced grain filling rate;specifically,grain weight per spike was improved by 0.13 g,and 1 000-grain weight was improved by 15.2%,which was superior to common foliar fertilizers.This might be closely related with the growth-promoting factors in vermicompost.

Effects ofvermicompostleach liquor on the yield of wheat

As shown in Table 1,vermicompost leach liquor remarkably improved the yield of wheat.On the basis of conventional high-yield cultivation,spraying vermicompost leach liquor after blooming stage improved the yield by 4.3% (240.2 kg/hm2),which exhibited higher yield increment,lower dosage and higher efficiency compared with basal application of vermicompost.

Effects ofvermicompostleach liquor on the quality of wheat

Both the yield and quality of wheat should be improved in order to realize high-yield and high-efficiency production of wheat.As shown in Table 2,after spraying ofvermicompostleach liquor,starch content,protein content and wet gluten content of wheat were improved to varying degrees.Specifically,wet gluten content was significantly improved by 2.3% ;starch content and protein content were improved by 1.5% and 1.4%,respectively;sedimentation volume remained unchanged;moisture content was reduced by 12.3%.The results indicated that vermicompost leach liquor played certain positive roles in the improvement of wheat quality,which was basically consistent with the effect of other common foliar fertilizers.

Discussions

Foliar spraying of fertilizers is an economic and effective method to improve the yield and quality of wheat[19].Currently,multiple measures have been developed for promoting wheat yield[1-11].Studies have shown that increasing grain weight is an important way to improve the yield,and the formation of grain weight is related with filling rate and filling duration.A consistent conclusion has been drawn that filling rate is a key factor determining the increase of grain weight.However,the contribution of filling duration to grain weight gain varies with different varieties,geographic environments and cultivation methods[20-24].In this study,the results indicated that vermicompost leach liquor could significantly improve 1 000-grain weight by 15.2% and promote the improvement of wheat quality.Differed from other foliar fertilizers,vermicompost leach liquor did not increase grain number,but reduced average grain number by 2.1%.According to the development status of grains per spike,vermicompost leach liquor could remarkably inhibit the development of inferior grains,which was conducive to improving the plumpness and uniformity of wheat grains.Zhaoet al.[25]reported that spraying fertilizers at flowering stage could achieve the best effect.Liuet al.[26]found that wheat should be sprayed with biogas slurry at late growth stage.In this study,spraying vermicompost leach liquor after blooming stage of wheat significantly improved the yield and quality of wheat.

Fresh vermicompost is rich in nutrients and contains a large amount of microorganisms, hormones and growth substances.Thus,soaking vermicompost with physical methods can not only retain original nutrients in vermicompost,but also decompose earthworm eggs and inseparable small earthworms,thereby hydrolyzing peptides into small peptide substances that can be adsorbed and utilized by crops.A large number of studies have been reported about the nutrients in earthworm and their functions in promoting thrombolysis and inhibiting thrombosis[27-30].In this study,the results show that vermicompost can promote grain filling and inhibit development of inferior grains.

Therefore,foliar application of vermicompost leach liquor after blooming stage of wheat can avoid the influence of early application on development of grains at middle spike positions and ensure sufficient fertile florets to achievethebalanceddevelopment and high-yield,high-efficiency production of wheat.However,the mechanism of effects of vermicompost leach liquor on promoting grain weight gain and inhibiting inferior grain development requires further investigation.

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