Studying the effect of foliar humic acid and nano-chitosan application on some bread wheat seed quality characteristics under dryland conditions

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Plant Production and Genetics, Campus of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

2 Cereal Research Center, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

10.22126/cbb.2025.12382.1113

Abstract

Introduction: Wheat is a staple food for 2.5 billion people and provides 5% of caloric intake in the arid regions of Africa and Asia, including Iran. Humic acid and chitosan are two natural organic compounds that enhance crop tolerance to drought and improve seed quality by influencing various physiological processes. Notably, nano-chitosan is more effective than bulk chitosan due to its smaller size and higher surface-area-to-volume ratio. Additionally, the combined application of humic acid and nano-chitosan significantly enhances wheat seed quality under dry conditions by affecting molecular mechanisms. Given that drought stress poses a substantial threat to global food security, this experiment aimed to explore the potential of improving wheat grain quality through the foliar application of humic acid and chitosan in Kermanshah.
Materials and methods: The experiment was conducted as a factorial design in a randomized complete block design, with three replications during the 2023-2024 growing season, using the Hashtrood wheat cultivar under dryland conditions. The experimental factors included three levels of foliar spraying with humic acid (0, 5, and 10 g/L) and three levels of chitosan nanoparticles (0, 250, and 500 ppm). The plants were sprayed with these treatments during the stem elongation and anthesis stages. The measurements taken included grain yield, grain gluten levels, hectoliter weight, grain protein percentage, proline content, and chlorophyll concentration in the flag leaf.
Results: The results indicated that both humic acid and nano-chitosan had significant effects on grain yield and protein content (P ≤ 0.01). Additionally, the interaction between humic acid and nano-chitosan significantly affected the gluten index, leaf proline levels (P ≤ 0.05), total leaf chlorophyll content, and hectoliter weight (P ≤ 0.01). The results indicated that the highest chlorophyll content in the leaves was observed with a treatment of 500 ppm nano-chitosan combined with 10 g/L of humic acid. Across all three levels of humic acid, the application of 500 and 250 ppm of nano-chitosan resulted in increased proline levels in the leaves. The highest proline content was recorded in the treatments with 500 ppm nano-chitosan and 10 g/L (0.84 mg/g leaf weight) and 5 g/L (0.82 mg/g leaf weight) of humic acid. Furthermore, increasing humic acid levels significantly elevated the grain protein content; the highest protein content (14.22%) was associated with the 10 g/L humic acid treatment compared to the control treatment (12.40%). The maximum gluten content was achieved with 500 ppm nano-chitosan and 10 g/L of humic acid, showing a 5.60% increase compared to the control. The highest hectoliter weight was observed with 10 and 5 g/L of humic acid in combination with 500 ppm of nano-chitosan (76.33 kg and 75.66 kg, respectively). Ultimately, the foliar application of humic acid and nano-chitosan resulted in grain yield increases of 83.11 kg/ha and 158.89 kg/ha, respectively.
Conclusion: The positive effects of foliar application of humic acid and nano-chitosan can contribute to food security by increasing both grain yield and quality, thereby enhancing bread productivity. However, challenges remain, such as the mechanization and labor demands for foliar application on rainfed farms primarily managed by smallholder farmers. In this context, modern agricultural techniques, such as precision agriculture, could play a significant role in addressing these challenges.

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Main Subjects

References

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Cereal Biotechnology and Biochemistry
Volume 4, Issue 3 - Serial Number 3
September 2025
Pages 328-346

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