Effect of Foliar Application of Urea and Ammonium Nitrate on the Dry Weight and Protein Content of Maize Plants

Urea and ammonium nitrate were applied to leaves of maize plants growing in growth chambers on nutrient solutions containing three different concentrations of ammonium nitrate. Dry weights, and the soluble protein contents of leaves, sterns and roots we remeasured. Both urea and ammonium nitrate did increase the dry weights of leaves and stems when ammonium nitrate was used in the nutrient solutions (0.5 and 2.5 mM/ liter). When nitrogen was not used in the nutrient solutions, no increments of dry weight occurred. The protein contents of leaves were increased for plants in the same nutrient solutions that produced increases in the dry weights, except that urea did not increase protein contents of stems. The dry weights of roots were increased by foliar applied urea when ammonium nitrate was used in the nutrient solutions but not when the nutrient solutions were without nitrogen. Ammonium nitrate applied to the foliage did not increase the dry weights of roots. The protein contents of roots were not increased by urea or ammonium nitrate applied to the leaves. The increments in the dry weights and protein contents given by foliar applied urea were superior to those of foliar applied ammonium nitrate, with the exception of the protein content of stems