Agricultural and Food Science, Vol. 18 (2009): 76-90
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© Agricultural and Food Science
Manuscript received December 2006
Winter triticale yield formation and quality affected
by N rate, timing and splitting
Maarika Alaru1, Ülle Laur1 , Viacheslav Eremeev1, Endla Reintam2, Are Selge1, Merrit Noormets1
1 Department of Field Crops and Grasslands, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian
University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 1A, 51014 Tartu, Estonia
2Department of Soil Science and Agrochemistry, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian
University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 1A, 51014 Tartu, Estonia
The field experiment was conducted to study the effects different nitrogen (N) quantities (N0–120 kg ha-1)
and application regimes (N applied at stages of tillering BBCH28–30 and flag leaf sheath opening BBCH47)
on (i) the formation of winter triticale above ground biomass (AGB), (ii) the grain yield (iii) the yield quality,
and also (iiii) to find more suitable N fertilizing regimes for winter triticale depending on their utilization.
Winter rye and winter wheat were used as reference crops.
The efficiency of applying all N at the tillering stage (N100%+N0) was the highest for the grain yield
of triticale. N application at development stage of plants BBCH47 increased the grain protein concentra-
tion significantly and the increase by 1 kg N was the highest in triticale cultivars. More stabile grain yield
was produced by triticales in application regime N+N. N splitting did not influence significantly either
the duration of the grain-filling period or the dry matter accumulation rate of triticale. N splitting affected
Hagberg falling number (HFN) indirectly through the effect on the grain yield formation and grain protein
concentration. HFN was positively correlated with the grain yield and negatively with the grain protein
concentration. The suitable N regimes are: 1) triticale as the energy plant – N60+N0 – N applied at the
tillering stage of plants and suitable N norm is not more than 60 kg N ha-1; 2) triticale as a feed or food –
N60+N60 – High grain yield, protein and lysine concentration level are assured then.
Key-words: nitrogen rate, timing and splitting, triticale, cultivar, energy plant
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Introduction
The fertilizing regime affects the formation of dif-
ferent crops above ground biomass (ABG), the grain
yield level and the grain yield quality. The influence
of splitting application of nitrogen (N) on several
cereals yield quality has investigated quite well. For
example Garrido-Lestache and coworkers (2005)
found that the timing and splitting of N fertilizer
had no clear effect on either durum wheat (Triticum
turgidum L.) grain yield or quality indices. Leaf ap-
plication of N at ear emergence increased only grain
protein concentration, vitreous kernel count and
grain ash content. The response of grain yield and
grain protein concentration to fertilizer N differed
from that reported for temperate climates.
In intensive farming systems, farmers split
up and apply the N fertilization to winter cere-
als (barley and wheat) and oilseed rape at several
dates to meet the need of the crop more precisely
(Sieling and Beims 2007). All three crops utilized
the splitting rates differently depending on the time
of application. Uptake of N derived from the first
N rate applied at the beginning of spring growth
was poorer than that from the second splitting rate
applied at stem elongation or third splitting rate
applied at ear emergence or bud formation. In con-
trast, N applied later in the growing season was
taken up more quickly, resulting in higher fertilizer
N-use efficiency.
The effects of nitrogen (N) applications on
Hungarian, French and Serbian winter wheat cul-
tivars were studied from 1996 to 2003 in a central
Hungarian region. Different N fertilizer rates were
applied at the tillering phase and after anthesis.
The increasing N top dressing rate and its divi-
sion resulted in an outstanding quality despite the
unfavourable ecological circumstances. Nitrogen
top dressing stabilized the falling number values
(Szentpétery et al. 2005).
Nitrogen could act through delaying the matu-
ration of the grain (Gooding et al. 1986), by in-
creasing the grain drying rate (Kettlewell 1999),
or by reducing grain size and affecting morphol-
ogy (Clarke et al. 2004). Delayed maturation of
grains in humid local conditions increases the risk
to pre-harvest sprouting and low Hagberg falling
number (HFN) values (Santiveri et al. 2002, Clarke
et al. 2004). One of the most limiting factors for
the seasonal development of triticale in cool and
humid climatic conditions is the plant’s sensitiv-
ity to sprouting. Yield losses due to lodging and
pre-harvest sprouting caused by the application
of large amounts of nitrogen fertilizer as an early
single dressing are quite usual. Possible ways to
avoid lodging are either by moderate fertilizing or
by dividing the N fertilizer application into parts
and applying them at different plant development
stages (Sticksel et al. 1999). A number of experi-
ments in winter cereals have shown that adjusting
fertilizer rate and splitting of N fertilizer application
are strategies to improve nitrogen use efficiency
(NUE; Alcoz et al. 1993, Sieling et al. 1998, Lopes-
Bellido et al. 2006, Subedi et al. 2007, Arregui and
Cuemada 2008). The timing of application has a
significant effect on the N uptake by the crop (Dilz
1988). Low efficiency attributed to N fertilizer ap-
plication in autumn has been observed in a large
number of studies, and justifies N applications in
spring (Sowers et al. 1994, Ottman et al. 2000).
Supplying N in two or three applications in spring
is a common fertilizer recommendation to increase
NUE in temperate Europe (Limaux et al. 1999).
There are many possibilities of using for differ-
ent triticale cultivars, for example, as food (triticale
flour blended with wheat flour), as feed for pigs and
poultry, as energy plants (above ground biomass
for fuel or grain yield for ethanol). Annual crops
cultivated as an alternative energy source, such as
wheat, rye or triticale, are easy to rotate in the crop
cycle, and do not require the farmer to make any
substantial investment. Whatever the proposed end
usage of the crop cultivation, fertilization and har-
vesting techniques are essential to ensure optimal
use of resources (Lund 1999). The production of
a grain crop as a biofuel proved to be competitive
compared to cultivation of other crops, so long as
the ABG attained 10 t ha-1 (Bewa 1998). However,
the identification of cereal species and varieties
with high biomass yield, high combustibility, low
ash content and low potential for boiler corrosion,
remains an on-going priority.
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Winter triticale (X. Triticosecale Wittmack) is
quite new crop in Baltic States and little informa-
tion is available about triticale yield stability in very
changeable weather conditions found here, about
possibilities to decrease the fluctuations of grain
yield quantity and quality, and above ground bio-
mass formation affected by splitting the application
of N fertilizer. Field experiments were conducted to
investigate the effects of different N quantities and
application regimes on (i) the formation of winter
triticale AGB, (ii) grain yield and (iii) yield quality
(protein and lysine concentration, test weight, grain
moisture content during grain filling period, crop
maturation and HFN), and also (iiii) to discover
more suitable N fertilizing regimes for different
triticale cultivars depending on their utilization.
Material and methods
Field trial, experimental details
The experimental field trial was carried out in
2001/02, 2002/03 and 2003/04 at the Institute of Ag-
ricultural and Environmental Sciences of Estonian
University of Life Sciences near Tartu (58°23´N,
26°44´E) on Stagnic Luvisol (WRB 1998 classifi-
cation) soil (sandy loam surface texture, organic
matter 2.1%, pHKCl 6.0).
The influence of N fertilizer on the grain yield
and yield quality of winter triticale was investi-
gated in the trial. The factors were: 1) the N top
dressing rate with four levels from 0 to 120 kg; 2)
the timing of N application with three factor levels,
namely all at BBCH28–30 developmental stage,
split 50/50 at BBCH28–30 and BBCH47, and all
at BBCH47 (see Table 1); 3) the winter triticale
cultivars Modus (from Saaten-Union GmbH) and
Tewo (Danko; from Aivar Niinemägi’s farm) were
used in this experiment. The winter rye Vambo
(Jõgeva Plant Breeding Institute) and the winter
wheat Kosack (Svalöf; Farm Plant Eesti AS) acted
as reference crops with the same N treatments; 4)
trial years 2001/02–2003/04. All the experimental
plots received at the same time of sowing the 60
kg ha-1 P2O5 as superphosphate and 80 kg ha
-1 K2O
as potassium chloride. The N fertilizer was not ap-
plied at sowing time, the N fertilizer was applied
directly on the soil surface as solid mineral ferti-
lizer NH4NO3.
Seeds were sown in the first week of September
to a depth of 3–5 cm, with 15-cm intervals between
the rows, at a density of 400 germinating seeds m–2.
The experiment was performed in a randomized
complete block design with three replications. The
experimental plots were 10 m2, of which 9 m2 were
harvested by combine to assess grain yield.
The yield measurements
The total grain yield of the plots was measured and
converted to 86% dry matter (DM) content. Plants
from 0.3 m2 area were taken from each plot before
the harvest and the plants height, ear-bearing till-
ers per plant, the AGB was estimated from these
samples. The AGB yield as g m-2 was calculated
N total kg ha–1 Control Group N+0
BBCH 28–30
0+N
BBCH 47
N+N
BBCH 28–30 + BBCH 47
0 0+0
60 N60+0 0+N60 N30+N30
90 N90+0 0+N90 N45+N45
120 N120+0 0+N120 N60+N60
Table 1. N regimes (growth stages of application and quantities, kg ha-1) for winter triticale fertilizing trial
2001/02–2003/04
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at 14% moisture content. Lodging was estimated
only in 2004. For lodging estimation was used the
9 points scale, where 9 point means, that cultivar
stands very well and 1 point, that plants were lodged
entirely. Samples of 10 spikes from each cultivar
were collected every 3–4 days during the seed-
filling period, to establish the seed DM content.
Five kernels were sampled from external flowers
of the middle spikelets of each spike, i.e. a total
of 50 kernels from each cultivar. The grains were
oven-dried at 70 °C for 48 hours to calculate their
dry weight. Since physiological maturity (PM) is
defined as maximum kernel dry weight, the PM
stage for each crop could be determined; but the
moisture content level at PM of 30–45% is too
high for combine harvesting, the best level being
20–25%.
Chemical analyses
Hagberg Falling Number (HFN; CC Standard nr.
107) and grain protein concentration from each
treatment were measured (Tecator Kjeltec apparatus,
N × 6.25), and the lysine concentration (98/68/EC
HPLC UV) of grains of winter triticale Tewo har-
vested in 2002 and 2003 from treatments N0+N0,
N0+N120, N60+N60, N120+N0 was calculated.
The winter wheat Kosack harvested in 2003 was
used as a reference crop.
Weather conditions
The meteorological station in Eerika, near the trial
field, supplied the weather data. The temperature
and precipitation data from May up to August are
presented, because in local conditions the winter
cereals post-hibernation vegetation period continues
during this period. The temperature and precipitation
data varied remarkably year to year during the trial
(see Table 2). The 2002 temperature data for the
post-hibernation growth period was much higher
and the precipitation amount was much lower than
the long-term average. The temperatures in 2003
from the beginning of May to the second week of
July (plant development stages BBCH30–70) were
lower than the long-term average and therefore
plants matured very slowly. The temperatures in
2004 were similar to the long-term average. There
was above average precipitation in both 2003 and
2004. The total amount of precipitation from May
to the end of August for both 2003, 420 mm, and
2004, 475 mm, was higher than the long-term aver-
age, which was 311 mm.
Data recording and statistical analyses
The trial data were processed using correlation and
variance analyses and descriptive statistics (STATIS-
TICA 8). The means are presented with their standard
Month The temperature (ºC) The precipitation (mm)
Year
2002
Year
2003
Year
2004
Long-term
average
Year
2002
Year
2003
Year
2004
Long-term
average
May 13.9 11.7 12.6 11.3 15 142 34 57
June 16.5 12.9 13.4 15.4 81 71 212 79
July 20.1 19.4 17.0 17.3 45 104 113 81
August 19.2 15.3 17.0 16.0 22 133 116 94
Source: Eerika Meteorological Station
Table 2. The temperature (ºC) and the precipitation data (mm) in 2002–2004 (for the post-hibernation growth period)
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errors (±S.E.). The level of the significance p<0.05,
0.01 and 0.001 was calculated in all cases. If the data
are given as an average of trial years, then TYAv is
used. The coefficient of determination (R2) is used
to measure the significance, relative importance and
ordinal effect of the factors (cultivars, the trial year,
N rate and application time; Draper and Smith 1998,
Everitt 2002). R2 compares the explained variance
(variance of the model’s predictions) with the total
variance of the data.
Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) or increase of
above ground yield and grain yield (kg kg-1 N) was
calculated: NUEAGB and NUEYIELD, respectively.
Different NUE were calculated according to the
formulas:
(1)
where AGBNX is AGB (kg ha-1) from fertilized
treatments and NX is N input quantity (kg N ha-1;
N60, N90 or N120), AGBN0 is the biomass from
control group N0+N0;
(2)
where YIELDNX is grain yield (kg ha-1) from N
fertilized treatments and YIELDN0 is grain yield
from control group.
Nitrogen uptake efficiency NUPE or increase of
grain protein concentration (mg in 100 g DM-1 kg
N) was calculated according to the formula:
(3)
where PROTNX is grain protein concentration (mg in
100 g DM) in N fertilized treatments and PROTN0 is
grain protein concentration in control group.
Results
The trial year had the greatest effect on different
agronomic traits from all trial factors studied, but
the effect of N quantities was not significant. If the
quantities of N fertilizer would have been higher
then probably the effect of quantities would have
become evident. But, the other hand, it revealed
from our earlier studies that N fertilizer quantities
greater than 60 kg ha–1 applied in plant tillering stage
did not increase the grain yield of winter triticale
cultivars significantly, in turn, the risk to lodging
increased remarkably. Hereinafter the R2 values
are presented to illustrate the relative importance
of different factors.
Influence of different N quantities and
application regimes on lodging
One of the aims of the divided N fertilizer application
was to prevent lodging. N application at BBCH47
increased the tolerance to lodging (R2=0.22; p<0.05),
because of the shorter stems of the triticale plants
(R2=0.29; p<0.01). Supplements of N in early spring
will support tillering and ear density and therefore
will make the crop more susceptible to lodging (see
Table 3). In this trial the lodging happened only in
wet 2004, when plants in treatments fertilized with
N lodged more or less (see Fig. 1).
AGBNX – AGBN0 NUEAGB (kg kg-1 N) = NX
,
YIELDNX – YIELDN0
NUE YIELD (kg kg-1 N) =
NX
,
PROTNX –PROTN0
NUPE (mg in100 g DM-1 kg
N) = ,
NX N regime Plant height
(cm)
Number of ear-bearing
tillers per plant
N+0* 107 ± 2.8a** 2.6 ± 0.09a
N+N 105 ± 3.0a 2.3 ± 0.10b
0+N 99 ± 3.2b 2.0 ± 0.11c
*N+0 – all N applied at BBCH28–30
N+N – half of total N amount applied at BBCH28–30 and the
other half at BBCH47
0+N – all N applied at BBCH47
** different letters denote significant difference
Table 3. Plant height and number of ear-bearing tillers
per plant affected by N regime from descriptive statis-
tics (± S.E.)
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Influence of different N quantities and
application regimes on biomass forma-
tion
According to R2 the major influencing factor for the
AGB formation was trial year (R2=0.54; p<0.001),
followed by N application regime (R2=0.29; p<0.01)
and the cultivar (R2=0.28; p<0.01). The triticale
biomass in the dry and warm conditions of 2002
varied between 1841 –2370 g m-2, but in the cool
and humid conditions of 2003 the data showed a
substantial decrease to between 757–1179 g m-2 (see
Table 4). The AGB increase by 1 kg N was averagely
over cultivars and N regimes in trial year 2002 0.74
± 0.60, in 2003 1.84 ± 0.32 and in 2004 1.29 ± 0.27
kg AGB kg-1 N, respectively. NUEAGB index for the
trial year 2003 was the highest, because the above
ground biomasses from control regime N0+N0
were relatively low. Above ground biomasses in
2003 were small because of cold and wet weather
conditions in May, which caused the inhibition of all
winter crops growing. In 2002 the AGB in control
group was relatively high, but major part of this
was straw, in treatments with N the Harvest Index
increased remarkably.
The TYAv biomass yield of rye was 1547 ±
46 kg ha-1, which was significantly higher than the
same indices for the other cultivars. The AGB of
winter triticale and wheat cultivars did not differed
from each other significantly. The TYAv AGB for
Modus, Tewo and Kosack were 1488 ± 94, 1444 ±
93 and 1442 ± 59 kg ha-1, respectively.
The application regime N+0 produced the
highest TYAv biomass yields. The TYAv biomass
yields were compared with the control regime
N0+N0. The data revealed increases of up to 135%
for winter wheat Kosack, 125% for winter triticale
cultivar Modus and 121% for Tewo. The increase
for rye Vambo was 109%. The increases of AGB
kg-1 N influenced by N regimes N+0, N+N and 0+N
were 2.08 ± 0.60, 1.76 ± 0.41 and 0.03 ± 0.27 kg
kg-1 N, respectively. NUEAGB index was the highest
in the application regime N+0, because N in tiller-
ing stage increased the number of tillers per plant
significantly (see Table 3). The Harvest Index was
higher in all three N regimes than in the control
regime, by 1–13% for triticales and 3–4% for rye.
The Harvest Index of winter wheat Kosack, on the
other hand in the same three regimes decreased by
5–15% (see Fig. 2).
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
0+0 0+N N+N N+0
Standing, points
a
b
a
b
Fig.1. Influence of N regime on plants standing in 2004
(average over N quantities and cultivars)
*different letters denote significant difference
Year Modus Tewo Vambo Kosack
2002 2098 ± 62a* 2068 ± 45a 2070 ± 30a 1961 ± 33b
2003 999 ± 48b 1003 ± 42b 1278 ± 77a 1043 ± 60b
2004 1367 ± 41a 1263 ± 55b 1287 ± 55ab 1324 ± 81ab
*different letters denote significant difference within rows
Table 4. Above ground biomass (AGB; g m-2) of different cultivars affected by trial year from descriptive statistics
(± SE)
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Influence of different N quantities and
application regimes on grain yield for-
mation
The greatest influence on grain yield formation
had the trial year (R2=0.50; p<0.001) followed by
cultivar (R2=0.29; p<0.01) and N regimes (R2=0.26;
p<0.01; see Table 5).
Dry and warm weather conditions in 2002 were
favourable for winter triticale cultivars Modus and
Tewo. The grain yield of triticales in 2002 exceeded
winter rye’s and winter wheat’s by 12 –43%. The
lower grain yield levels of winter crops in 2003
were caused by much lower temperatures in May
(the tillering stage of wheat and stem elongation
stage of rye and triticale plants) and a higher to-
tal of precipitation in July (during the grain fill-
ing period). The grain yield of triticale in the wet
and normal temperatures in 2004 exceeded the
grain yield of wheat and rye by 7–17%. The most
grain-producing cultivar TYAv was winter triticale
Modus, which exceeded the other studied cultivars
8–23% (see Table 6).
N applied at different plant development stages
influenced the grain yield significantly (R2=0.26;
p<0.01). N regimes, where all or half of N was ap-
plied at tillering stage of plants, produced statisti-
cally the similar grain yield (see Table 7). These N
regimes produced higher grain yield, because N in
tillering stage increased the number of ear-bearing
tillers per plant TYAv up to 29% comparing with
control regime (see table 3). The grain yields of
cultivars under 0+N regimes were not significantly
different in comparison to those of the control re-
gime.
Stability of grain yield over trial years was cal-
culated. Both triticale cultivars produced the most
stable grain yield in N+N regime, where the grain
yield of triticale cultivars Modus and Tewo varied
over trial years up to 3094 and 2581 kg ha-1, re-
spectively. The grain yield of rye and wheat were
more stable in application regime N+0, where their
grain yield varied up to 1238 and 2015 kg ha-1, re-
spectively. Cultivars with lower productivity were
more stabile (see Table 5).
As supposed, the grain yield increase by 1 kg
N was the greatest in application regime N+0. To
compare the cultivars with each other the highest
indices of NUEYELD had triticale cultivars Modus
and Tewo (see Table 8). NUEYELD for Modus and
Tewo in regime N+0 was TYAv 14.5 ± 1.4 and 16.7
± 2.7 kg kg-1 N.
30.0
35.0
40.0
45.0
50.0
55.0
60.0
MODUS TEWO VAMBO KOSACK
HI, %
0+0 control variant
(without nitrogen)
N+0 all N applied
at BBCH28–30
N+N half of total N amount
applied at BBCH28–30
and the other half at BBCH47
0+N all N applied
at BBCH47
Fig. 2. Harvest index (HI, %)
of different winter crops at dif-
ferent N regimes as an average
of years.
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Year,
N regime
Grain yield (kg ha-1)
Modus Tewo Vambo Kosack
2002
N+0**
N+N
0+N
7289 ± 33a*
7144 ± 155a
6744 ± 285a
6922 ± 322a
6728 ± 189ab
6232 ± 354b
5534 ± 102a
5197 ± 45b
5033 ± 98c
4638 ± 181a
4309 ± 130b
4176 ± 151b
2003
N+0
N+N
0+N
4542 ± 118a
4444 ± 182a
3573 ± 156b
4375 ± 122a
4147 ± 62b
3400 ± 228c
4296 ± 150a
4029 ± 236a
3200 ± 80b
4729 ± 41a
4501 ± 217a
3530 ± 135b
2004
N+0
N+N
0+N
7881 ± 123a
7538 ± 288ab
6406 ± 288b
7463 ± 224a
6570 ± 221b
5408 ± 214c
5188 ± 566a
5827 ± 122ab
5840 ± 40b
6653 ± 85a
6487 ± 46b
5958 ± 93c
*different letters denote significant difference within a column per year
**0+0 – control variant (without nitrogen)
N+0 – all N applied at BBCH28–30
N+N – half of total N amount applied at BBCH28–30 and the other half at BBCH47
0+N – all N applied at BBCH47
Table 5. Grain yield (kg ha-1) of different cultivars affected by trial year and N regime from descriptive statistics
(± SE)
Cultivar Grain yield kg ha-1 Grain protein concentration (%)
Winter triticale Modus 6173 ± 296a* 12.30 ± 0.303b
Winter triticale Tewo 5694 ± 271a 13.78 ± 0.343a
Winter rye Vambo 4730 ± 253b 12.27 ± 0.242b
Winter wheat Kosack 5709 ± 279a 13.43 ± 0.318a
*different letters denote significant difference
Table 6. Grain yield (kg ha-1) and grain protein concentration (%) of different cultivars from descriptive statistics
(± SE)
N regime Grain yield kg ha-1 Grain protein concentration (%)
N+0* 5934 ± 260a 12.61 ± 0.251b
N+N 5741 ± 241a 13.05 ± 0.251b
0+N 5029 ± 257b 13.84 ± 0.277a
* different letters denote significant difference within a column per year
** N+0 – all N applied at BBCH28–30
N+N – half of total N amount applied at BBCH28–30 and the other half at BBCH47
0+N – all N applied at BBCH47
Table 7. Grain yield and grain protein concentration affected by the N regimes from descriptive statistics
(± SE)
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Influence of N quantities and application
regimes on grain protein concentration
The second aim of the divided N+N application
was to increase the grain protein concentration. The
greatest influences on the grain protein concentra-
tion, from those factors investigated according to
R2, were trial year (R2=0.36; p<0.001), followed
by N application regimes (R2=0.34; p<0.001) and
the cultivar (R2=0.24; p<0.05; see Table 9). Higher
values of grain protein concentrations were in 2003,
which were caused by much lower grain yield level
in this trial year. It was in turn in 2002, when grain
yield level was high.
More favourable N regime for increasing of
grain protein concentration was 0+N, where N was
applied at plant development stage BBCH47. The
plants fertilized according to application regime
0+N had significantly higher grain protein con-
centration values than plants kernels in application
regimes N+0 or N+N: for example winter wheat
Kosack in regime 0+N had up to 2.6 % higher pro-
tein concentration comparing with other applica-
tion regimes.
The grain protein concentration as an average
of the years and N fertilizing regimes was highest
in triticale Tewo (13.8 ± 0.34%), followed by wheat
(13.4 ± 0.32%), triticale Modus (12.3 ± 0.30%) and
rye (12.27 ± 0.24%; see Table 6).
NUPE was also mostly affected by weather con-
ditions. The grain protein concentration increase
by 1 kg N was the greatest in 2002 (see Table 10).
NUPE value as an average of cultivars and N re-
gimes was for trial year 2002 20.9 ± 7.12 mg in
100 g DM-1 kg N, the same for 2003 and 2004 were
6.7 ± 1.41 and 12.5 ± 1.21 mg in 100 g DM-1 kg
N, respectively. Both triticale cultivars had in all
N application regimes very high NUPE values in
2002, because triticale plants grown in N0+N0 had
extremely low grain protein concentration: Modus
for example 8.4% and Tewo 9.3%, however, the
same for rye and wheat were 10.5 and 12.6%, re-
spectively. For all cultivars the grain protein con-
centration of control regime was relatively high in
2003 and it caused much lower NUPE values in this
Year,
N regime
NUEYIELD kg kg
-1 N
Modus Tewo Vambo Kosack
2002
N+0**
N+N
0+N
17.6 ± 3.5a*
16.5 ± 4.6a
11.0 ± 3.6a
23.0 ± 2.7a
18.0 ± 4.2a
11.2 ± 3.8a
8.9 ± 2.2a
5.2 ± 3.5ab
2.0 ± 0.8b
9.0 ± 1.5a
3.5 ± 1.2b
1.2 ± 0.3c
2003
N+0
N+N
0+N
12.7 ± 1.2a
11.3 ± 1.1a
1.4 ± 1.8b
8.3 ± 0.7a
6.1 ± 1.5ab
3.0 ± 2.4b
14.8 ± 1.3a
11.2 ± 0.5b
1.9 ± 0.8c
10.8 ± 2.2a
7.0 ± 1.4a
3.0 ± 1.3b
2004
N+0
N+N
0+N
13.2 ± 1.3a
9.1 ± 2.9a
2.6 ± 2.8b
18.9 ± 4.6a
9.4 ± 4.7b
4.8 ± 2.2b
–6.5 ± 5.1b
–1.4 ± 1.4ab
–0.9 ± 0.6a
6.6 ± 2.1a
4.5 ± 1.3ab
2.2 ± 1.5b
* different letters denote significant difference within a column per year
**N+0 – all N applied at BBCH28–30
N+N – half of total N amount applied at BBCH28–30 and the other half at BBCH47
0+N – all N applied at BBCH47
Table 8. Grain yield increase (NUEYELD; kg kg
-1 N) of different cultivars affected by trial year and N regime from descrip-
tive statistics (± SE)
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85
trial year. For example: for Modus 13.2, for Tewo
14.9, for Vambo 12.9 and for Kosack 13.0%.
Plants of both winter triticale cultivars grown
in N regimes, where all or half of N was applied at
BBCH47, had significantly higher NUPE indices
comparing with application regime N+0. However,
the increase of rye Vambo grain protein concentra-
Year,
N regime
Protein concentration (%)
Modus Tewo Vambo Kosack
2002
N+0**
N+N
0+N
9.9 ± 0.32b*
10.5 ± 0.49ab
10.9 ± 0.49a
11.0 ± 0.26b
11.7 ± 0.58ab
12.6 ± 0.44a
9.9 ± 0.21b
10.5 ± 0.31a
11.0 ± 0.25a
12.2 ± 0.37b
12.5 ± 0.12b
13.0 ± 0.25a
2003
N+0
N+N
0+N
12.7 ± 0.12c
13.4 ± 0.06b
14.5 ± 0,16a
14.8 ± 0.16c
15.4 ± 0.23b
16.6 ± 0.23a
13.1 ± 0.07c
13.5 ± 0.07b
14.1 ± 0.20a
14.0 ± 0.04b
14.1 ± 0.22b
14.6 ± 0.22a
2004
N+0
N+N
0+N
12.2 ± 0.29c
12.8 ± 0.29b
13.9 ± 0.34a
13.4 ± 0.17c
13.8 ± 0.02b
14.7 ± 0.32a
12.8 ± 0.12b
12.6 ± 0.32b
13.6 ± 0.29a
12.4 ± 0.07c
12.7 ± 0.04b
12.8 ± 0.03a
* different letters denote significant difference within a column per year
**N+0 – all N applied at BBCH28–30
N+N – half of total N amount applied at BBCH28–30 and the other half at BBCH47
0+N – all N applied at BBCH47
Table 9. Grain protein concentration (%) of different cultivars affected by trial year and N regime from descriptive sta-
tistics (± SE)
Year,
N regime
NUEPROT mg in 100 g DM
-1 kg N
Modus Tewo Vambo Kosack
2002
N+0**
N+N
0+N
20.4 ± 2.28b*
22.6 ± 1.06b
29.3 ± 4.76a
19.1 ± 1.23c
26.2 ± 1.40b
37.9 ± 6.72a
6.6 ± 0.92c
17.6 ± 1.24b
24.3 ± 3.21a
4.2 ± 0.53b
8.2 ± 1.21a
10.3 ± 1.90a
2003
N+0
N+N
0+N
-7.3 ± 2.98c
1.0 ± 0.53b
14.4 ± 1.60a
-5.8 ± 0.70c
1.0 ± 0.53b
14.2 ± 1.56a
2.2 ± 0.96c
7.5 ± 0.86b
14.1 ± 1.68a
9.3 ± 2.83b
12.0 ± 0.26b
18.3 ± 1.67a
2004
N+0
N+N
0+N
7.3 ± 1.72c
14.9 ± 1.85b
27.6 ± 1.94a
6.6 ± 0.72c
12.2 ± 2.24b
22.5 ± 0.80a
9.9 ± 0.80b
7.6 ± 1.99b
19.1 ± 0.89a
4.5 ± 0.90b
7.9 ± 1.46a
9.9 ± 2.05a
* different letters denote significant difference within a column per year
**N+0 – all N applied at BBCH28–30
N+N – half of total N amount applied at BBCH28–30 and the other half at BBCH47
0+N – all N applied at BBCH47
DM = dry matter
Table 10. Increase of grain protein concentration (NUPE; mg in 100 g DM-1 kg N) of different cultivars affected by trial
year and N regime from descriptive statistics (± SE)
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tion by 1 kg N in application regimes N+0 statisti-
cally did not differed from N+N (see Table 11).
The N+N regime also increased the grain lysine
concentration; N60+N60 produced the highest
lysine concentration values where the lysine con-
centration increased by 0.25 g kg–1 (in 2002) and
by 0.08 g kg–1 (in 2003) in comparison with the
control regime (see Table 12). The average lysine
concentration of grain samples in 2003 of triticale
cultivar Tewo was 29% higher than the lysine con-
centration of the winter wheat Kosack.
Influence of N quantities and application
regime on grain maturation rate, desic-
cation rate and HFN
The trials’ results revealed that in Estonia, dif-
ferent winter crops reach PM at almost the same
time. The duration of the grain filling period and the
development rate of winter crops’ grains correlated
strongly with the accumulation rate of the sum of
temperatures (R2=0.42; p<0.001), and correlated
negatively with the sum of precipitation (R2=-0.35;
N regime Modus Tewo Vambo Kosack
N+0** 5,65 ± 1,70a* 6,63 ± 0,43a 6.06 ± 0.83a 6.89 ± 1.25a
N+N 12.82 ± 0.72a 13.05 ± 0.56a 7.51 ± 0.63c 9.93 ± 0.62b
0+N 23.66 ± 2.21a 24.86 ± 2.99a 16.60 ± 0.84b 14.04 ± 1.74b
* different letters denote significant difference within rows
**N+0 – all N applied at BBCH28–30
N+N – half of total N amount applied at EC28–30 and the other half at BBCH47
0+N – all N applied at BBCH47
Table 11. NUPE of different cultivars affected by N regime from descriptive statistics (± SE)
N regime Lysine g kg-1 Protein % Lysine/protein %
2002
T 0+0
T 0+120
T 60+60
T120+0
2003
T 0+0
T 0+120
T 60+60
T120+0
3.21ab
3.13ab
3.46a
2.71b
4.53a
4.48a
4.61a
4.41a
13.24a
13.43a
12.63a
11.36a
14.86a
16.90b
15.88ab
15.07a
2.42a
2.30a
2.74a
2.39a
3.05a
2.65a
2.90ab
2.93a
K 0+0
K 0+120
K 60+60
K120+0
3.17b
3.61ab
3.04b
2.94b
14.21a
14.84a
14.48a
14.64a
2.23bc
2.43abc
2.10c
2.01c
* - different letters in column per year denote a statistically significant difference
T – winter triticale cultivar Tewo
K – winter wheat cultivar Kosack
Table 12. Lysine concentration in winter triticale cultivar Tewo and winter wheat Kosack affected by N regimes
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87
p<0.001), but N fertilizer quantities and application
times did not significantly influence these data as
TYAv. The time to harvest maturity varies consider-
ably, depending on the desiccation rate of the grain.
The differences between the desiccation rates for
winter crops, after PM, were significant (R2=0.67;
p<0.001). The desiccation rate after PM was nega-
tively correlated with the amount of precipitation
in July and August (R2= 0.50; p< 0.001). The HFN
values, according to the correlation analysis were
not directly influenced by N fertilizer quantities and
application times. The effect of N on the HFN was
indirect through the effect on the grain yield forma-
tion and grain protein content. HFN values were
positively correlated with the grain yield of differ-
ent winter crops (R2=0.22; p<0.05) and negatively
with the grain protein content (R2=-0.25; p<0.05).
The effect of the cultivars on the test weight, 1000
Kernel Weight (KW) and HFN was significant
(R2=0.35; p<0.001, R2=0.68; p<0.001 and R2=0.71;
p<0.001, respectively). HFN values were affected
most of all by the sum of precipitation in July and
August (R2=-0.90; p<0.001) and by the tempera-
ture (R2=0.91, p<0.001; see Table 13).
Discussion
Triticale is known as a crop for having a high grain
yield level at low N input (Varughese et al. 1996a).
It accumulates more N during heading and physi-
ological maturity than wheat does. The difference
in N accumulation is maximal under lower levels
of N application, indicating that triticales are better
crops for soils with low N fertility (Varughese et al.
1996a). However, fertilization is required to avoid
the decline of soil nutritional value. The choice of
an appropriate fertilising regime is important if
triticale is to be included at some stage in the crop
rotation. Our trials also revealed that the grain yield
increase resulting from 1 kg of additionally applied
N was the highest in triticale cultivars, followed
by wheat. The positive effect of N on the Harvest
Index of triticale, which is thought to be due to the
comparatively higher rates, than wheat’s of leaf
area, increases per unit N uptake (Yoshihira et al.
2002a). The efficiency of applying all the N fertilizer
at the tillering stage, N100%+N0, was negative for
the grain yield of rye, because of vigorous increase
of tillers m-2 and lodging. N fertilizer quantities
higher than 60 kg N ha–1 did not increase grain yield
significantly and they are not efficient in Estonian
local conditions, because of the high risk to lodging
and pre-harvest sprouting (Alaru et al. 2004).
The TYAv biomass yields, important for assess-
ing bio-energy potentials were the highest for rye
Vambo, AGB of winter triticale and wheat cultivars
did not differed from each other significantly. The
most suitable fertilising regime to maximise the
biomass yields for triticale, as energy plants, is to
apply all N at the tillering stage, N100%+N0. Af-
fected by N100%+N0 regime the highest increase
of biomass yield was in winter wheat Kosack, but
then the Harvest Index value decreased.
The stabile biomass and grain yield over years
is determinative in changeable climate like Baltic
Crop Falling number (s)
2002 2003 2004
Triticale 120 ± 14.2c 62 ± 0.4b 91 ± 9.6c
Rye 208 ± 5.8b 64 ± 0.3b 219 ± 2.3b
Wheat 306 ± 7.5a 208 ± 5.8a 325 ± 2.3a
* different letters denote a significant difference
Table 13. Hagber Falling Number (HFN) values of winter crops in 2002-2004 (±S.E.)
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89
Sea area. The weather conditions in trial years dif-
fered extremely from each other and as an average
of three trial years more stabile grain yield was
produced by triticales in application regime N+N.
The critical period in point of view of winter crops
AGB and grain yield formation was the beginning
of post-hibernation vegetation period. The general
grain yield level was dramatically influenced by
cold and wet weather conditions in May 2003,
which caused the strong deceleration of all winter
crops growing. It is impossible to improve this lag
in growing by any agronomic treatments later in
summer time.
Triticale has considerable potential as a re-
source of energy and protein (Fernandes-Figares
et al. 2000). Hybrid vigour (heterosis) can contrib-
ute to yield improvement (Kindred et al. 2005).
Heterosis for yield, may be heavily influenced by
agronomic conditions, but tends to be higher with-
out N application (Le Gouis et al. 2002). However,
much less is known about the interaction between
N and heterosis on grain quality. There is according
to Simmonds (1995), a strong negative correlation
between grain yield and protein content in that a
higher grain yield is accompanied by a decrease in
grain protein content; this was the case in our trial
(R2=-0.63; p< 0.001). N application at development
stage of plants BBCH47 (0+N regime) increased
the grain protein content significantly and the in-
crease resulting from 1 kg of additionally applied
N was the highest in triticale cultivars, followed by
rye and wheat. Yoshihira (2002b) concluded that
unlike the roots of wheat, those of triticale and
rye continue to grow after the flowering stage and
the degeneration of the roots of triticale and rye
is delayed compared to that of the roots of wheat.
This is thought to be the reason for the higher N
absorption values of the triticale at the flag leaf
stage (Yoshihira et al. 2002a). The differences of
N use efficiency between triticale and rye is caused
by differences of N partitioning between grain and
other plant components of these crops (Yoshihira et
al. 2002b) The fertilizing regime N60+N60 guar-
anteed the 12% protein concentration needed for
high-quality pig feed (Lember 2003). It revealed
from our earlier studies, that the N+0 regime at
the 120kg level (N120+N0) did produce the high-
est protein yield (841 kg ha–1), but this fertilizing
regime is not desirable because of the high risk
of lodging. The 120 kg level of the divided N+N
regime (N60+N60) produced 818 kg ha–1, which
was 4–12% higher than the other regimes and
27% higher than the control regime (Alaru et al.
2004).
The application of N fertilizer at different plant
stages influenced the grain protein concentration
and therefore the lysine concentration significantly.
Usually, when protein concentration increases there
is a decrease in the lysine concentration (Bruckner
et al. 1998, Fernandez-Figares et al. 2000). N fer-
tilizer applied at the plant development stage EC47
increased lysine concentration. The highest lysine
concentration was in variants N60+N60, where the
increase was up to 0.08 g kg–1 in comparison with
control regime.
The major deficiencies of triticale, compared
to wheat, grown in humid and cool environments,
are an earlier anthesis, a later maturity, and a longer
grain-fill duration compared to wheat (Varughese
et al. 1996b). N fertilizer application in later de-
velopment stages of plant may prolong the green
leaf area duration and prolong the time of the grain
maturation, which carries a relatively high risk for
the quality of the grain yield in humid environ-
ments. Our experiments revealed that different N
quantities and application times did not significant-
ly influence either the duration of the grain-filling
period or the dry matter accumulation rate. These
data were mostly influenced by local weather con-
ditions (R2= 0.54; p<0.001) and cultivar (R2=0.25;
p<0.05).
Local weather conditions in July and August
every year had direct effect on HFN values. In the
absence of lodging, however, N application often
increases HFN, but this effect varies with year,
cultivar and site (Clarke et al. 2004). In our trial
the N quantities and application regimes affected
HFN indirectly through the effect on the grain yield
formation and grain protein concentration. HFN
was positively correlated with the grain yield and
negatively with the grain protein concentration.
The greatest influencers on the increase of winter
triticale cultivars’ grain yield were the increase of
test weight and 1000 KW. The grain yield increases
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Vol. 18 (2009): 76–90.
89
of wheat and rye were caused by the increase of test
weight, 1000 KW and the number of ear-bearing
tillers per plant. N fertilizer application at the til-
lering stage of plants, as per the literature review
above, initially increases the grain yield, because
of the number of spikelets and grains per ear and so
the number of ear-bearing tillers per plant increases.
N application at later stages of plant development
increases the grains mass and the nitrogen concen-
tration in the kernels (Peltonen 1992, Ramesh et al.
2002). Our experiments confirmed this.
Conclusions
The efficiency of applying all N at the tillering 1.
stage (N100%+N0) was the highest for the
grain yield of triticale;
N application at development stage of plants 2.
BBCH47 increased the grain protein concen-
tration significantly and the increase resulting
from 1 kg of additionally applied N was the
highest in triticale cultivars, followed by rye
and wheat.
Different N quantities and application times did 3.
not significantly influence either the duration
of the grain-filling period or the dry matter
accumulation rate of triticale;
N quantities and application regime affected 4.
HFN indirectly through the effect on the grain
yield formation and grain protein concentration.
HFN was positively correlated with the grain
yield and negatively with the grain protein
concentration;
Depending on later utilization of triticale the 5.
suitable N regimes are:
a) triticale as the energy plant – N60+N0 – the
suitable N fertilizing time is at the tillering stage
of plants and suitable N norm is not more than
60 kg N ha-1;
b) triticale as a feed or food – N60+N60 – High
grain yield, protein and lysine concentra-
tion level are assured in this N application
regime;
More stabile grain yield was produced by 6.
triticales in application regime N+N.
Acknowledgements.We would like to thank Mr Marcus
Denton, http://www.derettens.ee/, for the linguistic cor-
rection of this article. We also acknowledge colleagues
from the department of Nutrition and Animal Products
Quality and colleagues from department of Soil Science
and Agrochemistry for their collaboration on the labora-
tory analysis, especially Mrs, PhD Helgi Kaldmäe and Mr
Tõnu Tõnutare. This study was supported financially by the
Estonian Science Foundation (Project 4726).
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Winter triticale yield formation and quality affected by N rate, timing and splitting
Introduction
Material and methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusions
References