Effects of rates of nitrogen on yield and yield components of winter triticale

Due to the high genetic potential for yield and favourable nutritional value, triticale is a promising plant species. For achieving high and stable yields, it is necessary to have favorable agroclimatic conditions of the locality, variety and advanced agricultural techniques, with special emphasis on fertilizing. This study examines the effect of increasing rates of nitrogen on yield and yield components of five cultivars of winter triticale: Odisej, Kg-20, Triumph, Rtanj and Tango. The three-year trial (2009-2012), which was set up in a randomized block system with three replications, included control and three different doses of nitrogen fertilization (0, 60, 90 and 120 kg ha-1). In all variants of fertilization, 80 kg ha-1 P2O5 and K2O were added beside nitrogen. The obtained results showed that the use of nitrogen had a positive effect on yield and yield components in all variants and in all cultivars. The variety Tango had the highest average grain yield, while the variety Kg-20 had the lowest. Also, Tango had the highest value of the 1000 grain mass and the number of grains per spike, while Triumph had the highest value of hectoliter weight. The application of fertilizers led to a very large and significant increase of yield compared with the control. Accordingly, all studied cultivars had the highest yield with the highest quantities of nitrogen (120 kg ha-1). Considering that triticale is intended mainly for feeding livestock, the results of these studies would be valuable in terms of its growing as a forage crop as well as in terms of its breeding for grain quality and productivity