This is the report from a BSPP MSc/MRes Bursary.
Click here to read more/apply for one yourself.
Being a master’s student abroad during a pandemic year was not an easy task. I was fortunate to be accepted for the Plant Pathology master’s degree at Harper Adams and also favoured to receive one of the MSc bursaries from the BSPP. Taking my master’s during Covid was not so fascinating at first, however, the Covid situation unfolded the talents in the teachers at Harper Adams, and the professors of Plant Health Management Principles delivered the material both through presentations but also through online live laboratory lessons. All of the modules allowed me to expand my knowledge in weeds, pest and disease integrated management, which is becoming very important every each year in agriculture. However, one of the most modern topics in agriculture is biostimulants, a topic, which I have studied during my master’s and an area on which I have written down my report.
The research project was supervised by Dr Matthew Back and investigated the effects of Algamin, a seaweed and amino acid based biostimulant on yield, nitrogen requirement and Zymoseptoria tritici incidence of conventionally grown field of winter wheat in Northern Bulgaria. I have conducted my experiment on biostimulant because in the recent years, they have emerged as novel tools for improving crop management and the European biostimulants industry is the market leader, accounting for half of the global market. Biostimulants are neither fertilisers nor synthetic plant protection products because they do not provide directly nutrients or protection against pests and diseases. Therefore, biostimulants pose a huge potential in the future agriculture and as people become more familiarised and disturbed about the negative impacts of synthetic products on the environment, so do growers move towards IPM, where biostimulants may have a role. Furthermore, Zymoseptoria tritici is one of the most important disease in Bulgaria and there is a huge potential in investigating the control of the disease using biostimulants.
The field experiment was set up near to the town Dolni Dubnik, Bulgaria during 2020-2021 on winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) variety Avenue (LG), quality class II. The soil is Chernozem, part of FAO soil groups, also called “black earth” soil, which is well-aggregated and highly rich in humus. The experiment was set up as a randomised complete block design (RCBD) with 4 treatments (control, early, late, early and late application) and 6 replicates. From September 2020 till June 2021, systemic application of plant protection products and fertilisation treatments were carried out with no difference among plots.
The data for assessment of Septoria leaf blotch was collected by assessing the degree of disease incidence and severity among the four treatments. To compare the nitrogen requirement of the crop among treatments, Yara N tool was used. To test the effect of the biostimulant Alagmin on yield accumulation, the yield of every treatment was also recorded. Finally, the economic effect or income growth coming from the used biostimulant (Osb) was calculated based on the value of yield increase (Wpp) in a result of the biostimulant used and costs of its application (Ksb). For this aim the following formula was used: Osb = Wpp – Ksb, (EUR/ha). After collecting the data, statistical analysis were performed with Genstat Statistical Software. Histogram of residuals, fitted-value plot, normal plot and half-normal plot were used to test the normality of data. If the variables did not satisfy Gaussian distribution, they were transformed, typically with square root. Afterwards, a factorial one -way analysis of variance using ANOVA (for the untransformed data) were conducted to test whether the biostimulant product and its application at variable timings had a statistically significant effect (p ≤ 0.05) on the reduction of Zymoseptoria tritici severity index, incidence and yield in treated wheat plants compared to the untreated (Control). If the treatments were statistically significant, Fisher’s protected least significant test (p ≤ 0.05) was used to test whether a significant difference in yield and disease development occurred between treatment timings of the crop.
The results showed that spraying Algamin onto early growth stage of winter wheat (up to GS32) in Northern Bulgaria under field conditions leads to a significant decrease in Zymoseptoria tritici incidence on the fourth leaf, where late applications could increase the disease. There was, however, no disease presence on the first and second leaf in none of the treatments. In addition, Algamin might promote an increase in yield and nitrogen remobilisation, especially in early applications, however in the examined field conditions, the results were not significant. Moreover, the economic analysis on yield has proved that there is a high economic gain incurred in the application of the biostimulant on early growth stage of wheat. Indeed, knowledge of the effectiveness of biostimulants on wheat at different application times and doses, and fertilisation schemes is essential to achieve significant yield increase. Aiming towards sustainable agriculture in the future, it is also highly important to investigate the effectiveness of the biostimulants when application along with synthetic plant protection products or on their own. Altogether, the results from this experiment confirmed the important of Algamin application to farmers in Bulgaria who apply conventional agriculture on winter wheat crops.
I would like to finish this report with the question: what it is like after I have finished my master’s degree and conducting this experiment? Right after I graduated, I have applied for work at BASF, one of the biggest chemical companies worldwide. Fortunately, I got accepted and now I am part of the technical and sales team in Bulgaria. And what helped me to be part of the BASF team – all my years of studying, persistence and of course my field experiment, which I have conducted during my master’s degree.
Having all that said I could not be more grateful than I am now for what life have encountered me with and for what I have achieved till now of course with the help of the BSPP MSc Bursary.
Yoana Dimitrova
Harper Adams University
This is the report from a BSPP MSc/MRes Bursary.
Click here to read more/apply for one yourself.
