Effect of seed source and foliar application of NPKSB on soybean

ABSTRACT: This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of foliar-spray of NPKSB on the productivity of soybean grown from seeds of different sources, viz. farmers, private seed traders and Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC). The yield and yield attributes of soybean significantly increased when the plants were sprayed with NPKSB fertilizers at the pod-filling stage. The longest plant (115 cm) was obtained from seed source of BADC and sprayed with NPKSB, while the shortest (100 cm) was found with farmers seeds under control condition. The highest number of pods per plant (51) was found from the plants grown with seeds of BADC and sprayed with NPKSB, followed by that grown with the private trader’s seeds; while, the lowest was recorded from that grown with the farmers’ seeds. The foliar spray showed a significant increase in 1000-grain weight irrespective of seed sources. The heaviest 1000-grain (121 g) was measured from the plants grown with BADC seeds followed by that of private traders’ seeds, while the lowest 1000-grain weight was measured from that collected from farmers’ source. The highest grain yield (2.71 t/ha) was obtained from the plants grown with the seeds of private trader’s source and sprayed with NPKSB nutrients, followed by that collected from BADC source. The percent of increase in soybean grain yield due to application of NPKSB was 51, 25 and 17% for private seed traders, BADC and farmers seed sources, respectively. Therefore, seeds collected from private seed traders responded better to NPKSB spray compared to that of BADC and farmers seed sources. 

Keywords: Foliar applied nutrient, pod-filling stage, seed-sources, soybean productivity