Page 208 - PC2019 Program & Proceedings

PLANT CANADA 2019

S201. Nutrients requirements of flax
Sahota, T.
LUARS Lakehead University Thunder Bay

Three replicated field experiments in RCBD were conducted at Thunder Bay to work out the N, P, K and
S requirements of flax during 2016-’18. The treatments in experiment on N were: 0, 35, 70 and 105 kg N
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ha from urea, 105 kg N ha from urea + ESN (2:1 on N basis) and 105 kg N ha from urea +
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Manipulator 620 spray @ 8 L ha at 6” crop growth. Experiment on P and K included all combinations of
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P2O5 and K2O each @ 0, 20 and 40 kg ha . Experiment on S had four rates of S: 0, 10, 20 and 30 kg ha .
The results pooled over years indicated that (i) application of urea N increased the flax yield linearly from
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1.67 Mg ha in no N to 2.27 Mg ha with 70 kg N ha and levelled of thereafter (2.28 Mg ha at 105 kg
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N ha ). Seed yield improvement by urea + ESN as compared to urea wasn’t significant, (ii) Manipulator
improved the seed yield significantly (0.25 Mg ha ) and (iii) there was no improvement in flax seed yield
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by application of P, K or S! The seed yield in P and K experiment ranged from 2.77 Mg ha to 2.97 Mg
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ha and that in the S experiment from 2.73 Mg ha to 2.76 Mg ha .
Tarlok Sahota (tssahota@lakeheadu.ca)

S202. Quantifying the effects of a carbonatite rock fertilizer on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)
1
Jones, J. ; P. Antunes ; F. Guinel
*1
2
1 Wilfrid Laurier University; Algoma University
2
There is renewed interest in exploiting unprocessed rocks and minerals for agriculture to meet
sustainability challenges. Carbonatites are of particular relevance as rock fertilizers because of their rapid
weathering rates and nutrient-bearing accessory minerals. Here, we evaluated a Canadian carbonatite with
the goal of determining potential beneficial effects on plants. Wheat was grown under greenhouse
conditions in inorganic substrates amended with either carbonatite, calcitic lime (pH control), or silica
sand (soil structure control). Plant growth, biomass, and yield were measured. The rhizospheric microbial
respiration was also assessed, as it is known to be affected by substrate amendments. While plant biomass
was not different with sand or lime, plants grown with the carbonatite displayed increased shoot growth
within two weeks. After eight weeks, there was a nearly 200% increase in overall biomass of carbonatite-
treated plants over plants in the other treatments, and the increased growth was accompanied by higher
seed production. There was also significantly increased microbial respiration in the lime-treated substrate
over the control and carbonatite-amended substrates. These results demonstrate that carbonatites used as
rock fertilizers can positively affect plants as early as two weeks after planting, and that their effects on
wheat are related to enhanced nutrient acquisition. However, further work is needed to characterize how
carbonatites interact with different plant species, and how these benefits can be realized under field
conditions.

James Jones (jone3630@mylaurier.ca)

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