Thiourea fertilization effect on nutrient content and uptake of soybean cultivar

Abstract

In the kharif season of 2020, an experimental trial was executed at Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology which is situated in Pantnagar, India. The objective of this study was to evaluate how soybean's nutrient content and uptake responded to the application of thiourea through foliar means. The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design and comprised of two soybean cultivars viz., PS 1347 and SL 958 and five foliar sprays viz., control, water spray, thiourea spray @ 250 ppm, 500 ppm, and 750 ppm which were replicated four times. This study demonstrates the potential of foliar thiourea application to enhance the sulfur content and uptake of soybean cultivars in the kharif season. The findings of the study indicated that the N, P, and K content of soybean were not impacted by the type of variety used or by the foliar sprays administered. However, it was observed that the highest S content in both seeds (0.375%) and haulm (0.179%) was recorded when thiourea was applied through foliar means at a rate of 750 ppm. This result was statistically equivalent (0.368% in seed and 0.173% in haulm) to the outcome obtained from a 500 ppm foliar spray and both of these treatments were found to be more effective than the other foliar spray methods tested. Regarding the uptake of nutrients, it was observed that the highest levels of N, P, K, and S uptake by both seed and haulm as well as the total uptake, were recorded when a foliar spray containing 750 ppm of thiourea was used.