Spikelet development and grain yield of the wheat ear in response to applied nitrogen

Abstract

Wheat plants in an irrigated field crop were fertilized with 0 (N0), 3 (N3), 10 (N10) or 30 (N30) kg nitrogen ha-1 week-1 for 10 weeks, commencing 12 days after sowing, till the flag leaf reached maturity. Nitrogen significantly increased tiller numbers, dry matter and grain yields per plant. Maximum plant size resulted from the N30 treatment, but maximum grain yields per plant from the N10 treatment. Total spikelet numbers increased with increasing nitrogen supply up to the N30 treatment, and this was due to increased rates of spikelet primordia production. Nitrogen treatments had almost no effect on the duration of spikelet primordium formation. Only two ear-bearing tillers were produced in the N10 and N30 treatments, and none in the others. Tiller apices had a similar, or in the case of the second tiller of N30 plants a 29% higher, rate of spikelet primordia formation to that of the associated main shoot, and all apices formed terminal spikelets at a similar time. The second tiller did not initiate primordia production until 25% of final spikelet numbers were present on the main shoot apex. The higher grain yield per plant in the N10 than in the N30 treatment was due largely to more grains per fertile spikelet on the tillers of N10 plants. It was speculated that the poorer performance of tillers on N30 plants was due to mutual shading of shoots and/or poorer nitrogen nutrition of the tiller apices owing to the method of nitrogen application. It was concluded that nitrogen supply affected grain yield per ear more by influencing the ability of florets to set grain than by varying spikelet number.