Influence of seven levels of chemical/biostimulator protection on amino acid profile and yield traits in wheat

Biostimulators combined with pesticides can reduce the need for chemical crop protection to yield healthy wheat with high grain quality and nutritional value. The goal of this four-year field study was an assessment of the effects of seven levels of sulfonylurea herbicide, morpholine and triazole fungicides, and humic biostimulator protection on concentrations of 20 amino acids (AAs) and on yield parameters under diverse climatic conditions. Application of pesticides and biostimulators reduced amino acid con-centrations. Sulfonylurea applied alone reduced AAs least. Chemical (herbicide + fungicide) protection or its combination with humic biostimulator were the most effective strategies for increasing yield, thousand-kernel weight, spike number, grain surface area, and wet gluten. Reduced dosages of fungicides showed effects on AA content and crop parameter values similar to those of the recommended dosages of fungicides and are in line with the European Commission's From Farm to Fork strategy. Humic biostim-ulators as agents supporting pesticide protection should be optimized for wheat growth stage to achieve the most desirable wheat parameters and implemented in agricultural practice.(c) 2022 Crop Science Society of China and Institute of Crop Science, CAAS. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC -ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

The combination of biostimulators and pesticides can reduce the use of chemical crop protection and produce healthy wheat with high grain quality and nutritional value. This four-year field study assessed the effects of different levels of herbicides, fungicides, and humic biostimulators on amino acid concentrations and yield parameters in wheat under diverse climatic conditions. The results showed that the application of pesticides and biostimulators reduced amino acid concentrations, and the combination of herbicide and fungicide with humic biostimulator was the most effective strategy for increasing yield and quality parameters in wheat.