The effects of nitrogen and sulphur fertilizers on the yield and quality of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum l.)

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the effects of nitrogen and sulphur applications on the yield and quality of fenugreek in Van, Turkey in 2006 and 2007 growing seasons. Field trials were designed in Completely Randomized Block Design with three replications at the experimental fields of Agricultural Faculty of Yüzüncü Yıl University. In the study, plant height (cm), the number of branches (branch $plant^ {-1}$), first pod height (cm), the number of pods (pod $plant^ {-1}$), the number of seeds in the pod (seed $pod^ {-1}$), pod length (cm), thousand-seed weight (g), seed yield (kg $ha^ {-1}$), protein content (%) and protein yield (kg $ha^ {-1}$) were determined. The all growth and yield parameters except for thousand seed weight were significantly affected by nitrogen fertilization. All the parameters except for the number of branches, pod length and thousand seed weight were affected by sulphur fertilization.The highest seed yields (853.0 and 815 kg $ha^ {-1}$) were obtained from 90 kg N $ha^ {-1}$ and 20 kg S $ha^ {-1}$ applications in 2006 and 2007, respectively. The highest protein content (24.2 %) was obtained from 90 kg N $ha^ {-1}$ and 40 kg S $ha^ {-1}$ applications in both experimental years.