Yield components and nutritional quality of soybean grain as a function of foliar fertilizers application time

Abstract

Foliar fertilization aims to provide rapid-absorption nutrients to the plant, supplement soil fertilization, and fulfill the uptake peaks’ demand. This study’s objective was to verify the effect of foliar fertilizers application in stages R2 (full bloom) and R5 (beginning seed) on soybean grain quality, yield components, and grain yield. The experiment was conducted in three sites through Parana state (Brazil) in a 9 × 2 factorial design, with three replications per treatment. Total chlorophyll index, plant height, yield components (number of pods per plant, number of grains per pod, number of grains per plant and thousand-grain mass), protein and oil concentration in the grain, and final yield were evaluated. Plant height, total chlorophyll index, and grain quality were not affected by this study’s foliar fertilizers. Thousand-grain mass responded to the foliar products and the application times. However, no final grain yield effect was observed, possibly because those nutrients’ soil level was adequate.