Effects of organic manures and non-chemical weed control on wheat. II. Grain quality

Deficit plant nutrients, especially nitrogen, and weed competition are the most critical problems in organic farming. This research was carried out on research plots of the Agricultural Research and Extension Center of Ataturk University Agricultural Faculty during the cropping seasons of 2006-07, 2007-08, and 2008-09 under dry farming conditions. A factorial experimental design with 4 replications was used to set up the experimental plots. The factors were 2 wheat cultivars (Kink and Dogu-88), 3 weed control practices (weedy control, hand weeding, dense sowing), and 7 fertilizer sources [control, standard inorganic (NP), Bio-Organic (Bio), Bio-SR Organic (Bio SR), Leonardite, Organic fertilizer (OF), and cattle manure (CM)]. Hectoliter weight, crude protein ratio, Zeleny sedimentation value, wet gluten content, number of fall (enzyme activity), and crude ash ratio were investigated as the quality parameters for bread-wheat cultivars. Differences between Dogu-88 and Kink were significant with regard to the investigated parameters except for hectoliter weight. Kink was superior in terms of quality parameters. Weed control practices significantly affected the investigated parameters. The highest Zeleny sedimentation value and wet gluten content were obtained from hand weeding, while the highest crude protein ratio was obtained from weedy control. The manure sources affected the investigated parameters significantly. The highest values were obtained from NP fertilizer source. Organic manure sources increased the quality parameter compared to the control and the highest quality values were obtained from CM treatment. It was concluded that local cultivar Kink should be preferred to modern cultivar Dogu 88 for high grain quality in organic wheat farming. CM should be applied as an organic fertilizer due to high quality values in organic wheat farming under the dry farming conditions of Erzurum Province in Turkey.