Either increasing pressure of biotic and abiotic factors along with growing demand for the grains intended for fodder or edible purposes induce attempts to look for alternative elements of cultivation technology for supporting plant growth and yield. Among natural growth stimulation methods, a considerable role can be played by biostimulants. The three-year field experiment, located in Poland (53°13’N; 17°51’E) with spring wheat Triticum aestivum L. was conducted to assess the response of grain yield, yield components as well as the content and uptake of N, P and K in grain to various methods of seaweed biostimulant application. The different times (developmental phases of wheat) and doses of biostimulant Kelpak (Ecklonia maxima Osbeck) application were tested. This biostimulant contains phytohormones: auxins and cytokinins (11 and 0.031 mg lsup-1/sup, respectively). Preparation was applied in a single dose of 2 l/ha at BBCH 22 or in a dose of 2 l/ha at BBCH 31, as well as two-times, 1.5 l/ha each, in both mentioned phases (sequential treatment). The study indicated that the biostimulant Kelpak had a favourable effect on the root weight, the number of grains per spike, thousand grain weight and grain yield of spring wheat, in sequential treatment. This method for biostimulant application also resulted in increase in the content and uptake of P and K in wheat grain in comparison with the control. Favourable response of the grain yield and nutrient uptake gives grounds for recommendations of sequential application of seaweed biostimulant Kelpak for spring wheat.
Szczepanek et al. (Sat,) studied this question.