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ARS Home » Plains Area » El Reno, Oklahoma » Oklahoma and Central Plains Agricultural Research Center » Livestock, Forage and Pasture Management Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #385236
Research Project: Integrated Agroecosystem Research to Enhance Forage and Food Production in the Southern Great Plains

Location: Livestock, Forage and Pasture Management Research Unit

Title: Impact of bioinoculant (StimulateTM) on the water and nitrogen uptake, yield, quality, and rhizobiome in a wheat-cotton rotation

Author
item Witt, Travis
item Fortuna, Ann Marie

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/10/2021
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Winter wheat is an important food and forage crop in the southern Great Plains of the U.S. and around the world. As the climate becomes more variable, producers will need multiple tools to maintain productivity. One tool that may be useful, is beneficial bacteria and fungi. In this study, two commercially grown varieties of wheat were treated with a commercially available product StimulateTM; to observe the effect on water and nitrogen uptake, yield, and forage quality. Wheat treated with StimulateTM had increased leaf area compared to wheat that was untreated.

Technical Abstract: Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an important food and forage crop in the southern Great Plains (SGP) of the U. S. and the world. As the climate becomes more variable, producers will need multiple tools to maintain productivity. One tool that may be beneficial is plant growth promoting rhizobacteria. In this study, two genotypes of wheat were treated with a commercially available product StimulateTM; to observe the effect on water and nitrogen uptake, yield, and forage quality. The experiment was planted on November 4th, 2020 at El Reno, OK (35'34’N, 98' 3’ W) in a split plot design with genotype as the whole plot, stimulate as the sub-plot, and nitrogen rate as the sub-sub-plot. Whole plots measured 82.3 m x 25.6 m per genotype with the area evenly divided into sub-sub-plots. Plant measurements were taken at the critical growth stages of spring greenup, stem elongation, flowering, and final yield from one row 0.5 m in length from each of the sub-sub-plots. Analysis revealed that there was a significant (p=0.05) difference in the leaf area between plants treated with StimulateTM and those that were not. However, there was no significant (p=0.05) difference in plant biomass. This indicates that less resources were allocated to stem development when wheat is treated with StimulateTM. Planned forage quality analyses may help to confirm this hypothesis.