The effects of different nitrogen and farm manure doses on yield, quality and antioxidant activity of bread wheat

This master thesis was conducted on the research and experimental fields at Adnan Menderes University Agriculture Faculty Research Farm during wheat production period in 2014. The research is based on randomized split block design and aimed to determine the effects of organic (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 ton/da) and mineral (0, 7, 14, 21 kgN/da) fertilizer doses on yield components (plant height, number of ears per square meter, number of kernels per ear, 1000 grain weight, grain yield) and quality (protein, fibre, oil, ash, starch ratio) parameters of bread wheat. In addition, changes of total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of the wheat grain which have significant contributions to health were also analysed. According to the obtained yield and quality results; plant height values ranged from 63.2 to 110. cm, number of ears per square meter from 405 to 665, number of kernels per ear from 39.3 to 50.0, grain yield from 196.7 to 819.7 kg/da, grain protein content from 11.43% to 15.80%, fibre ratio from 2.41% to 2.91%, ash ratio from 1.45% to 1.55%, starch content from 57.07% to 60.03%, total phenolic content from 176.2 to 312.1 µg GAE/g and total antioxidant activity from 11.34% to 32.39%. Mineral fertilizer dose 21 kgN/da and organic fertilizer dose up to 2 ton/da have positive effects on yield and quality characteristics of wheat. As a result, it is found that using both mineral and organic fertilizers is beneficial in terms of obtaining better yield and quality results from bread wheat. Key words: bread wheat, farm yard manure, nitrogen dose, yield, quality, antioxidant