EFFECT OF SOIL CULTIVATION SYSTEMS AND FOLIAR MICROELEMENT FERTILIZATION ON THE YIELDING AND USABILITY OF YELLOW LUPIN

Agnieszka Faligowska, Jerzy Szukała
Department of Soil and Plant Cultivation, Agricultural University of Poznań, Poland

ABSTRACT

Field experiment of the cultivation of lupin for seeds was established in 2002-2004 at the Experimental and Didactic Station in Złotniki, a property of the Agricultural University in Poznań. The influence of the application of different soil cultivation systems and foliar microelement fertilization on yield and usability features of yellow lupin, Parys cultivar, was studied. The highest yield of seeds and protein as well as the weight of 1000 seeds were obtained in the no-ploughing cultivation system. The remaining features, such as particular yield components, energy efficiency of yield and sowing value of seeds were modified to the highest degree by the course of weather conditions in the particular years of the studies. Among the foliar fertilizers, the most favourable effect on the yellow lupin seed yield was exerted by a dose of Ekolist applied twice, while the chemical composition of seeds, energy efficiency of yield and the sowing value of seeds were not changed by this factor.

Key words: yellow lupin, soil cultivation systems, yield, foliar fertilization, seed quality, economic effects.

INTRODUCTION

The area of pulse crops cultivation in Poland in the 1990-ies was subject to significant limitations. The reason for this was the decreased profitability of this cultivation, limitations of seed export possibilities, increased area of cereal growth, and, in the case of lupin, a sudden appearance of a dangerous disease – anthracnose.

At present, in order to limit production costs, a tendency to decrease cultivation intensity can be observed, as well as a tendency to shallow ploughing or to replace it by other treatments [33]. Possibilities of the application of far-going limitations in soil tillage result from improved tools and means of plant protection. So far, studies have been undertaken to introduce simplifications in the cultivation of such pulse crops as: faba bean [9,10,12,26,29], pea [1], white lupin [35,36], and even soybean [3]. However, there is a lack of information on the reaction of yellow lupin to the simplifications of the cultivation procedures. Potential production possibilities of this species in Polish climate and soil conditions are significantly higher than the yields obtained in practice. Most probably, this is caused mainly by the phenomenon of a significant blossom and pod budlet fall [4,40]. The studies carried out so far have shown that one of the reasons for this phenomenon may be the deficiency of assimilates and nutritive substances, including microelements [4,40]. The best method of supplementing the lack of these components is foliar plant nutrition. This method limits the number of losses caused by the washing out and the regression of microelements in the soil, makes it possible to obtain a high effectiveness with the application of a small amount of the component, and it allows the application of the components in the period of their greatest demand [5,7,24,31,40]. The negative effects of microelement deficiency can be prevented through foliar supplies of multicomponent fertilizers.

The objective of the present studies was the determination of the effect of three soil cultivation systems and seven variants of foliar microelement fertilization on yielding, sowing value and seed usability, as well as the economic effects of the cultivation of yellow lupin, Parys cultivar.

The working hypothesis assumed that:

1. simplifications in soil cultivation have an effect on the productivity and the quality features of yellow lupin,

2. foliar supply of fertilizers containing microelements contributes to qualitative changes of the chemical composition of the seeds and a better utilization of the production potential of yellow lupin,

3. simplified soil cultivation systems and foliar microelement fertilization contribute to the improvement of the profitability of yellow lupin cultivation.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Field experiment was carried out over 2002-2004 at the Experimental and Didactic Station in Złotniki, which is a property of the Agricultural University in Poznań, on grey-brown podsolic soil, class IVa and IVb, of very good and good rye complex. It was a two-factor experiment in random sub-block design in four replications. The first factor was three soil cultivation systems: ploughing system (traditional), no-ploughing system (simplified) and zero system (direct sowing). The second factor was foliar multicomponent fertilization with the following fertilizers containing microelements: Mikrosol U (M), Ekolist Standard (E) and Wuxal Tp N Universal (W), used a single time in the phase of the end of budding (M₁, E₁, W₁) and twice in the phase of the end of budding and of full blossom (M₂, E₂, W₂) with a control (K₀). The mineral composition of the foliar fertilizers is shown in Table 1. All microfertilizers were applied in the dose of 3 l·ha^-1 each time. Agrotechnical operations concerning the ploughing cultivation system were carried out according to the recommendations for agricultural practice. In the no-ploughing system, grubber was used instead of pre-winter ploughing, while in the zero tillage, sowing was carried out directly in the stubble-field, after a late autumn desiccation with Roundup. The studies concerned the following features: plant population density, yield components, yielding, chemical composition of seeds, content of protein fractions in seeds, and protein productivity and energetic efficiency of yield, as well as the sowing value of lupin seeds.

The course of weather conditions is shown in Fig. 1. In the particular years of studies, the vegetation period of lupin was diversified in relation to weather conditions. In 2002, vegetation took place in conditions favouring uniform plant emergence and good plant growth. However, in 2003 the whole vegetation period was characterized by a deficiency of precipitation and a high temperature, which was the main cause of poor plant development and consequently of low yields. The last year of studies was favourable; sufficient precipitation and a high temperature contributed to obtaining satisfactory yields and good quality seeds.

Economical estimation of the applied technologies was carried out on the basis of data contained in economic calculations made by WODR in Poznań. Calculations were carried out basing on the prices of plant protection means in 2006. In the calculations of the production costs of 1 kg of protein, the price of soybean oil meal as of December 2005/2006 according to the Fodder Market was accepted [30]. In the agricultural gross income, the supplementary funds from the European Union in the amount of 686.35 PLN·ha^-1 for zone I in 2005 were taken into consideration. For the calculation of the profitability of the cultivation, the values of the highest yields obtained for the particular soil cultivation systems and foliar fertilization with Ekolist Standard (applied twice) were accepted. Two variants of calculations were carried out: for seeds intended for fodder and for sowing purposes. The prices of sowing seeds and of the produced sowing material and fodder seeds were calculated on the basis of the price list from Przebędowo Plant Breeding Station, which cooperates with farmers.

The obtained results were statistically analyzed using the analysis of variance for random sub-blocks (STATPAKU programme), and the significance of the obtained differences were verified with the Tukey test at α = 0.05.

RESULTS

Averaging the results from the three years of studies, the best plant population density was obtained in the ploughing system, a significantly lower – by 7.8% – in the no-ploughing system, and by 11.1% on the objects of zero tillage (Fig. 2).

Yellow lupin yield components were mainly modified by the course of weather conditions in the particular years of studies. The highest number of pods was developed by yellow lupin plants in 2004 and the smallest in 2002 (Fig. 3). The remaining yield components, such as the number and weight of seeds per plant ranged in a similar way. On average, the highest number of pods per plant was found in the no-ploughing cultivation system (Fig. 3).

Among the foliar microfertilizers, only Ekolist (2x) applied in the zero tillage system significantly increased the number of pods per plant – by 37.6% (Table 2). The favourable effect of the double dose of Ekolist on the increase of the number of pods per plant contributed also to the increase of the number of seeds per plant by 42% and the seed weight by 36.6% in the zero tillage system.

The weight of 1000 lupin seeds, in the particular years of studies, was subjected to significant changes due to the influence of weather conditions and the soil cultivation systems. The lowest weight of 1000 seeds was found in years 2002 and 2003 in the zero tillage system and in 2004 in the ploughing system. On average, the highest values for this feature were obtained in the direct cultivation system (Table 3). None of the applied foliar fertilizers in the interaction with the cultivation system had any significant influence on the diversification of the mass of 1000 seeds as compared to the control.

Yellow lupin seed yield in the particular years was differentiated according to the course of weather conditions and the soil cultivation systems. The greatest seed yield was obtained in 2002, while the lowest in the dry year 2003. On average, in the three-year cycle of studies, the highest seed yield was found in the no-ploughing cultivation system, while a significantly lower one – by 14% – was obtained in the ploughing system and by 18.1% in the zero system (Fig. 4).

The demonstrated concurrence of the soil cultivation systems with the foliar nutrition did not differentiate significantly the yield of yellow lupin seeds both in the ploughing and the no-ploughing system. Only the twice applied Ekolist in the zero system contributed to a significant increase of seed yield in relation to the control by 2.5 dt·ha^-1, i.e. by 12%. On average, an increase of seed yield by 8% was obtained thanks to the influence of a dose of Ekolist applied twice (Table 4).

The content of total protein in lupin seeds was not differentiated by the soil cultivation systems. The greatest amount of crude fat was found in the seeds originating from the ploughing cultivation system, and a significantly lower amount (by 0.4%) from the zero system. An opposite range was shown by the content of crude fibre. The greatest amount of this component was found in the seeds obtained from the zero tillage system, and a significantly lower amount (by 1%) from the ploughing system. The greatest amount of nitrogen-free extract was present in the seeds obtained from the ploughing system, and significantly less (by 1.8%) in the no-ploughing system. The smallest amount of crude ash was present in the zero tillage system, while significantly more was found in the remaining soil cultivation systems. However, the calcium content ranged in the opposite way (Table 5). The share of the remaining mineral components: phosphorus, potassium and magnesium was not subjected to changes due to the influence of the soil cultivations systems. The applied foliar fertilizers did not differentiate significantly the chemical composition of seeds.

On the basis of Fig. 5, it can be stated that the highest percentage of protein was made up by globulins, whose share ranged from 42% to 57%. This fraction was subject to changes to a higher degree due to the influence of the soil cultivation systems in 2002 than in the dry year 2003. The presence of globulins and prolamins oscillated between 8% and 17% and was less differentiated in the dry year 2003 than in 2002. The presence of albumins ranged from 9% to 16% and was also the most stable in the dry year 2003. The presence of non-protein nitrogen ranged from 10% to 14%, while the rest of nitrogen oscillated between 10% and 18%.

Among the applied foliar fertilizers, the most favourable effect on protein efficiency was exerted by the dose of Ekolist applied twice, and in the no-ploughing system, also a twice applied dose of Mikrosol. On average, the highest protein efficiency was obtained when no-ploughing cultivation system was applied, while a significantly lower output – by 17.2% – was obtained on the objects in the ploughing cultivation system, and by 20.2% in the zero system (Table 6).

In 2002, the greatest energy efficiency of lupin seeds was obtained in the zero tillage system, while in the dry year 2003, the efficiency from this system was lower. On average, the highest energy efficiency was obtained in the no-ploughing system, while a significantly lower one – by 13.6% – in the ploughing system, and by 18.3% in the zero system (Table 7).

The coefficient of variation calculated for plant population density did not show any major differences among the particular soil cultivation systems (Table 8). The highest coefficients of variability for yield components were shown in the ploughing system, while the lowest ones characterized the no-ploughing cultivation. In the zero system, the seed yield variation was many times higher than in the ploughing and the no-ploughing system. The highest variability of seed protein yield was found in the zero tillage system. The greatest stability of energy efficiency was found in the no-ploughing system, and the lowest in the zero tillage system.

Germination capacity of lupin seeds was high and undifferentiated either by the soil cultivation system in the particular years of studies or by the foliar microelement nutrition (Fig. 6).

The percentage of the cost of sowing material in the total cost oscillated between 11% in the ploughing system and 13% in the remaining cultivation systems. Cost of plant protection was the highest in the zero tillage due to Roundup spraying and the lowest in the ploughing system. The greatest part of the total cost was the cost of tillage. In comparison with the traditional ploughing cultivation, the costs were lower by 8% in the no-ploughing system, and by 11% in the zero system (Fig. 7).

Analysis of the profitability of the cultivation of yellow lupin for fodder has shown a negative agricultural income only in the case of the application of the ploughing system of soil cultivation. The remaining systems have shown to be profitable and gave an agricultural income of 345 PLN·ha^-1 in the no-ploughing system and 148 PLN·ha^-1 in the zero system. The most profitable turned out to be the no-ploughing cultivation, where the profitability index was 117% (Table 9).

Slightly different was the profitability of the cultivation of yellow lupin for sowing material. In this case, each applied system proved to be profitable. The highest agricultural income of 1.293 PLN·ha^-1 was obtained in the no-ploughing system, an income lower by about 333 PLN in the zero system, and by 717 PLN in the ploughing system. Cultivation profitability indexes ranged from 125% in the ploughing system to 166% in the no-ploughing system (Table 10).

Production cost of 1 kg of yellow lupin protein with the application of the no-ploughing cultivation was lower by 17% from the price of 1 kg of ground soybean protein. In the case of the zero tillage system, these differences were not great, and in the ploughing system the production of 1 kg of lupin protein was more expensive than that of 1 kg of ground soybean protein (Table 11).

DISCUSSION

Simplified soil cultivation systems are gaining more and more advocates because of a number of advantages, like the improvement of water economy in the soil, limitation of soil erosion and a decrease in the costs of labour and fuel consumption [12,41]. Studies have shown that the shallowing of soil cultivation worsens the conditions of plant emergence, which may result in the decrease of plant population density and seed yield [2]. This has been confirmed by the results of the present studies in which plant population density in the no-ploughing system and in the zero system was significantly lower by 7.8% and 11.1%, respectively than in the ploughing system. The reason for this phenomenon may be the stubble-field, which limits the access of moisture to furrows, and this may result in a slower germination of seeds and a decrease in plant emergence [23]. Blecharczyk et al. [1] report that the application of the zero tillage system in pea contributed to a decrease in plant density as compared with the ploughing cultivation. The above authors also report that the use of direct sowing in comparison with ploughing cultivation caused the decrease pea yield component such as the number of pods per plant and seeds in the pod. In the present studies, a higher yield of yellow lupin in the no-ploughing system was the consequence of rather good plant population density and a greater 1000 seed weight and not because of the differentiation of the value of particular yield components due to the influence of the analysed soil cultivation systems. Similarly, in the experiment by Dzienia and Wereszczaka [11], the soil cultivation systems had no significant effect on the yield components value and on the architecture of faba bean field.

Byszewski et al. [5] and Ziółek [51] found an increase in the number of the obtained flowers and pod budlets on the plants of yellow lupin and faba bean due to the influence of the application of foliar nutrition with microelements. In the experiments with lupin, the percentage of retained pods oscillated between 17% and 40% in relation to the number of the developed flowers. The increase of pods per plant due to the influence of microelement fertilization is also confirmed by the studies of other authors: Księżak et al. [24], Wilczek [48], and Wilczek et al. [49]. The ability of a plant to set a greater number of pods determines the increase of seed number per plant and the weight of 1000 seeds. In the studies by Ziółek [51], after the application of foliar nutrition with boron, manganese and molybdenum, the number of seeds from one plant increased by 12.3% on average, and this was the most important component of the yield of faba bean. Księżak et al. [24] studied the effect of Agrosol S and Insol-6 on the yielding of white lupin. When microfertilizers were applied, no changes in the growth and development of plants or in the size of seed yield and yield components were observed. The absence of a positive reaction of these species is seen by the authors mainly in the sufficient content of macro- and microelements in the soil. In the studies by Prusiński and Borowska [19], the increasing doses of Ekolist caused a significant increase in the values in the majority of yield components, and particularly in the number and weight of seeds per plant. Ekolist contributed to the increase in the number of pods per plant by 35% on average, and seed weight by 26%. In the present studies, foliar fertilizers differentiated to a small degree the particular yield elements. Ekolist only exerted a modifying effect on the number of pods, seeds and seed weight per plant in the zero tillage system. The analysis of the results of the present study indicates that foliar fertilizers had no major influence on the changes in the weight of 1000 seeds as compared to the control in all three soil cultivation systems. In numerous experiments, tendencies to an increase in the weight of 1000 seeds were observed, although this has not been statistically confirmed [4,5,48,49]. Wilczek [48] and Wilczek et al. [49] found an increase in the weight of 1000 lupin seeds as a result of fertilization with boron and molybdenum. In the experiments by Byszewski and Sadowska [4] and Byszewski et al. [5] plant spraying with preparations containing microelements caused a slight increase in the weight of 1000 seeds in all the years of studies.

In the available literature, there is no agreement on the effect of the cultivation systems on the yellow lupin yield. Recently, a high intensity of experiments on the possibility of the application of limitations in the cultivation of some plants has been observed [2,17]. Study results indicate that the yielding of pulse crops depends to a great extent on the course of weather conditions during the vegetation period and on the habitat [29,32]. In years with favourable weather conditions, one can expect high and rather undifferentiated by the soil cultivation systems yields of seeds. However, greater yield differentiation can occur in more dry years, whereas in such conditions plants grown in the zero system show poorer yielding [29,32]. In Polish literature, only Piekarczyk and Urbanowski [35] and Stupnicka-Rodzynkiewicz and Pasek [44] carried out studies on the simplifications of cultivation of white lupin. Many authors indicate the unfavourable effect of the use of limitations in the soil cultivation on the yielding of pulse crops [1,2,3,11,17,23,36,42]. Javurek and Vach [23] obtained the lowest soybean seed yields in the zero tillage system. In the studies by Bujak [3], the zero tillage decreased also the yield of soybean in comparison with the ploughing and the no-ploughing cultivation 15% and 16%, respectively. Dzienia and Wereszczaka [11], through the elimination of ploughing cultivation in the zero tillage system obtained a yield decrease of faba bean seeds by 11%, and with the use of rototiller by 3%. Roszak et al. [42] report that with good plant protection with herbicides in the zero system, yields similar to those obtained in the ploughing cultivation system may be obtained. Results of the experiments of other authors indicate that species grown in the no-ploughing system are not inferior in the respect of yielding to plants grown in the ploughing system [9,10,26,29,35]. Marks and Nowicki [29] found that the different systems of soil cultivation do not differentiate significantly the seed yield and showed that in the simplified cultivation, the coefficient of variation of the yield was the smallest. The studies by Kuś [26] indicate that cultivation shallowing and the zero tillage do not differentiate the yield of winter wheat, faba bean and maize. Piekarczyk and Urbanowski [35] obtained the highest seed yield when the basic ploughing was replace by subsoiling, and the increase of white lupin yield was 10,6%. The above authors also found that the application of subsoiling caused a decrease in the soil compactness and demonstrated that between traditional pre-winter ploughing and shallow ploughing there were no differences in white lupin yielding. Stupnicka-Rodzynkiewicz and Pasek [44], who compared the traditional ploughing cultivation and the simplified cultivation with the use of a cultivator and subsoiling as well as different forecrops in the no-ploughing system, showed an increase in the seed yield of white lupin after wheat by 20%, while after rape and pea, there was a drop in the yield by 10% and 15%, respectively. In the present studies, the highest lupin seed yield was obtained in the no-ploughing system. However, it must be stressed that in 2002 with the distribution of weather conditions, particularly of precipitation favourable for yielding, the yields in the three systems of soil cultivation did not show any differentiation. On the other hand, in the dry year 2003, significantly lower seed yields were obtained in the zero tillage as compared with the ploughing and the no-ploughing cultivation. These results show that the zero tillage of yellow lupin may be risky in years with unfavourable weather conditions.

A positive effect of microelements on the production of a greater number of pods and better development of seeds leads to a greater yield. The results of the studies of many authors confirm the positive effect of the fertilization with boron and molybdenum on the increase of the seed yield of yellow lupin. Wilczek et al. [49] reports that due to the influence of fertilization with boron, seed productivity increased by 11%, with molybdenum by 12.3% and with boron and molybdenum applied together by 15.7%. The best results were obtained when the microelements were used together. However, the results were not significantly higher than those obtained when they were applied separately [48]. The results of the above authors are confirmed by literature [4,16,39]. As a result of spraying with Wuxal, a significant increase in the yield of yellow lupin seeds was obtained, which ranged on average from 0.39 to 0.51 t·ha^-1 [4]. In the experiment by Prusiński and Borowska [39] in 1997 and 1999, Ekolist contributed to the increase the seed yield by about 20% in comparison with the control. Results of studies carried out on other species of pulse crops also confirm the favourable effect of microelements on the yield. A similar effect was obtained using microelements or their mixtures in soybean cultivation [22,52]. In the experiments, a 15% yield increase was obtained due to the influence of boron [52] and a 6% increase due to the influence of boron and molybdenum applied together [22]. Cwojdzinski and Nowak [6], due to the influence of manganese and boron and microfertilizer Gama, found a significant increase in the seed yield of blue lupin 23%, 30.1% and 22.8%, respectively. However, in some cases, no effect of microelements on the increase of seed yield in pulse crops was found. Spraying with Wuxal in faba bean cultivation did not give the desired effect. Jasińska [20] did not find any effect of this preparation either on the growth or on the development of faba bean and on the seed yield and their usability value. Similar results were obtained after the application of boron, iron and zinc in soybean cultivation [13,28]. In the present studies, it has been found that the greatest effect on yellow lupin yielding was exerted by a double dose of Ekolist, both in the ploughing and the no-ploughing cultivation, while in the zero system this effect was statistically proved. On average, a significant increase in seed yield (by 8%) was obtained under the influence of a dose of this moicrofertilizer applied twice. This has been confirmed by the results obtained by Prusiński and Borowska [39], who acquired higher yield of yellow lupin at the increasing doses of Ekolist.

The chemical composition of seeds is a hereditary feature, but may also be modified by agronomic practices. The present studies have proved that soil cultivation systems did not differentiate the seed protein content significantly. However, it was established that there is a certain tendency to develop higher protein content in the seeds obtained from the no-ploughing cultivation. Blecharczyk et al. [1] also did not obtain any changes in protein content in pea seeds as a result of the application of cultivation simplifications. Soil cultivation systems have also shown a modifying effect on nitrogen-free compounds of lupin and on fat, fibre and calcium. The content of crude ash in seeds was significantly lower in the zero tillage system. The remaining components, i.e. phosphorus, potassium and magnesium did not change. Foliar nutrition did not contribute significantly to the changes in the content of organic and mineral components in lupin seeds. In numerous works, there is a lack of agreement on the effect of microelements on the chemical composition of pulse crops seeds. This results from different methods of application and doses of microelements, particularly in the in-soil application. The results of some studies indicate an increase of microelement and total protein content in seeds [12,16,17,22]. Faba bean, due to nutrition with boron, manganese and molybdenum, in the studies by Ziółek [51], reacted with an increase of total protein by 11%. In the experiments by Wilczek et al. [49] and Wilczek [48], the use of manganese, molybdenum and boron contributed to a significant increase in the content of these microelements in the seeds of yellow lupin. However, no influence was found on the contents of total protein, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Nevertheless, it must be stressed that the results quoted by the above authors were obtained as a consequence of in-soil microelement application, frequently in differentiated doses. Czyż [8], who used foliar fertilization with boron and molybdenum, found an increase in the content of total protein and microelements in pea seeds. Jasińska [20], who used foliar nutrition of lucerne and pea with Wuxal, did not find any differences in the chemical composition of seeds and straw of these species. Jasińska et al. [22] used additional nutrition of soybean with molybdenum and molybdenum combined with boron and showed a higher content of molybdenum in seeds and straw and an increased accumulation of nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, manganese and boron in seeds. Prusiński and Borowska [40], using increasing doses of Ekolist, noted a linear increase in protein and calcium content in the seeds of yellow lupin, and with a low dose, the maximum content of potassium was found.

Seeds of pulse crops, due to a significant content of protein, are used as fodder not only for monogastric animals, but also for ruminants. According to Pastuszewska [34], the nutritive value of the protein of pulse crops for both groups of animals is different, because it is defined by different factors. And so, the utilization of protein by pigs and poultry depends on its aminoacid composition and digestibility in the small intestine, while in the nutrition of ruminants it depends on the susceptibility to decomposition by bacteria in the rumen and on the amount of protein (aminoacids) penetrating to the duodenum. The nutritive value of pulse crops is limited by the deficiency of methonine and tryptophane, i.e. the so-called limiting aminoacids. An addition of these aminoacids to the diets of animals causes a significant improvement in the utilization of protein [14]. In the proteinaceous complex of pulse crops, globulins are the definitely dominating fraction, and then follow the albumins [14,21]. Their content changes in different periods of seed development; albumins dominate in young seeds, and globulins dominate in ripening and ripe seeds [14]. Gulewicz [15] in his studies extracted not only albumins and globulins, but also prolamins and glutelins and protein-free nitrogen in the amount of 15% to 17%. The results of the study by Sokołowski [43] indicate that an increased fertilization with nitrogen caused an increase in the content of albumin and globulin fractions and prolamin and glutelin in the grains of spring tricicale. He also found that multicomponent fertilizers including Ekolist caused a greater accumulation of prolamins in the grain of this species. In the present studies, it has been found that the applied soil cultivation systems had an influence on the content of protein fractions in the seeds of yellow lupin, whereas microelements did not modify the content of protein fractions. Seeds collected in the ploughing cultivation contained the greatest amount of glutelins and prolamins, in the no-ploughing cultivation – of albumins, and in the zero tillage – of globulins. The participation of protein-free nitrogen oscillated between 11% and 12%, while the content of the remaining nitrogen did not change. The results of the present studies also indicate that the methods of soil cultivation may have an influence not only on the change in the content of the particular fractions in seed protein, but may also, by the modification of their contribution, affect the nutritive value of yellow lupin seeds. Cwojdzinski and Nowak [6] found an improvement in protein quality and a small increase in the content of proteinaceus aminoacids in the seeds of blue lupin due to the influence of foliar nutrition with manganese, molybdenum, copper and zinc, while boron caused a small deterioration of their quality.

Total protein productivity is the resultant of seed yield and protein content in seeds. Analysis of the present study results indicates that it was modified to the highest degree by the course of weather conditions during the vegetation period. In 2002, which was favourable for yielding, the total protein productivity was almost 1.5-times higher than in the dry year 2003. The highest protein productivity was obtained in the no-ploughing cultivation using a dose of Mikrosol applied twice; that yield was higher by 10.1% in comparison with the control. In order to obtain such protein productivity, one ought to harvest as much as 10t of wheat from 1ha. Czyż [8] found a favourable influence of boron, manganese and molybdenum on the protein productivity in pea. Kulig [25] obtained a 9% increase in protein productivity in faba bean through the application of the same microelements.

Seeds of yellow lupin may be used in full-portion mixtures for butcher hogs in the amount of 10% to 20%. However, cereal mixtures with a greater amount of lupin seeds require supplementation with lysine and methionine. In mixtures for poultry, the amount of yellow lupin may range from 10% to 25% depending on the period of feeding. In the nutrition of ruminants, there is no limitation of lupin participation in the correctly composed feeding dose, and the recommended amount in protein feed mixtures is 15% [19]. In the present studies, the energy efficiency of lupin seeds was formed by weather conditions and soil cultivation systems. The highest energy efficiency was ensured in the no-ploughing cultivation. Present studies have not shown any changes in the energy efficiency of seed yield under the influence of the foliar application of microfertilizers.

A characteristic feature of pulse crops seeds is a great diversity between the planned and the really obtained in field conditions seed germination ability, which has an impact on plant emergence in the field. These differences may be caused both by the physiological properties of seeds as well as by the soil and weather conditions dominating in the sowing and emergence period [38,47]. Recently, this phenomenon has mainly been ascribed to cool-water stress, which contributes to the development of cotyledon cracks, withering of the root-tip and of the short shoot under the cotyledon. These damages result from a very quick water uptake by dry seeds sown into moist and cooled soil [3]. Results of studies confirm that a higher content of some microelements improves the ability and energy of seed germination. Szukalski [45,46], Wilczek [48], Wilczek et al. [49] show an increase in the seed germination ability of yellow lupin and faba bean under the influence of mother plants fertilization with boron and molybdenum. Furthermore, Szukalski [45,46] and Wilczek [48] found that an increased content of manganese in seeds may cause a small decrease of energy and germination ability. Prusiński and Borowska [40] report that the seed germination ability of yellow lupin, after the application of Ekolist, was significantly higher (by 8.7%) than that of the control seeds. Furthermore, Ekolist in the year of a mass occurrence of anthracnose significantly improved the vigor and vitality of seeds. Results of the present studies concerning the sowing value of seeds showed that the studied soil cultivation systems, as well as the foliar nutrition in comparison with the control did not differentiate the germination ability. Seeds of yellow lupin, in all the years of studies, conformed to the standard sowing values demanded from qualified sowing material. On this basis, it can be stated that in seed plantations, all three soil cultivation systems may be applied.

From the point of view of economic calculus, the profitability of cultivation is an important issue in plant production. The profitability of a given technology depends not only on the outlays of the saved energy, but also on the direct cost, which originates mostly from the material cost, i.e. the number of cultivation treatments, dose of mineral fertilization, labour cost and the number of treatments related to chemical plant protection [36,50]. Popp et al. [37] obtained a worse economic effect after the application of the zero tillage to soybean, due to the higher cost of plant protection. Some authors claim that costs born in the ploughing and no-ploughing cultivations are similar. In sowing without soil cultivation, there are greater outlays for herbicides, seeds and fertilizers, while in the ploughing cultivation, more money is spent on labor, energy and machinery [23,41]. Experiments carried out by other authors indicate that the introduction of cultivation simplifications is favorable from the point of view of economic calculus. In the experiment by Hernanz et al. [18], production costs of no-ploughing soil cultivation were lower by 13% to 24%, while of zero tillage by 6% to 17%. Yin and Al-kasis [50] estimated the profitability of the use of short- and long-term cultivation of soybean in the zero system. In comparison with other methods of cultivation, a better economic result was obtained after the application of the zero system because yield drop was not synonymous with a lower agricultural income. Piekarczyk and Urbanowski [35] found that even a sparing use of subsoiling instead of ploughing is doubtful from the point of view of economic calculus and causes a decrease in the energetic and economic effectiveness of soil cultivation. Economic estimation carried out in the present studies indicates that the profitability of lupin depends to a high extent on the soil cultivation system and on the cultivation line. In the production of lupin seeds for fodder, losses were incurred when applying the ploughing cultivation system. Comparing the cultivation systems of lupin for sowing material, the most profitable turned out to be the no-ploughing system, while the ploughing cultivation was the least profitable.

Majchrzycki et al. [27] indicates that before the decision of the cultivation of pulse crops for fodder is made, one must take into consideration the cost of the production of l kg of protein and calculate whether the cost is lower than the price of the ground soybean protein. In the studies of the above authors, the production cost of l kg of protein in faba bean and yellow lupin was significantly lower than the price of the production of l kg of ground soybean protein. The present studies indicate that the lowest cost of the production of l kg of protein amounting to 85% of the price of 1 kg of ground soybean protein was obtained when yellow lupin was cultivated in the no-ploughing system. Cost relations very similar to the price of ground soybean were obtained through the cultivation of yellow lupin in the zero tillage system. The economic calculus indicates that the cost of l kg of lupin protein may be competitive to the price of 1 kg of ground soybean protein.

CONCLUSIONS

1. Seed yield, yield components, and energy efficiency as well as the sowing value of the seeds of yellow lupin were most intensively modified by the course of weather conditions.

2. The highest plant population density was found for the ploughing cultivation and the lowest for the zero tillage system.

3. The highest yield and the weight of 1000 seeds, as well as the highest protein productivity and the energy efficiency of seed yield were obtained when no-ploughing system was used. This system also provided the highest gross agricultural income, regardless of the production aim, and the production cost of yellow lupin protein was lower by 17% than of ground soybean.

4. On average the double dose of Ekolist most favorable affected seed yield and protein productivity. However, no effect of microfertilizers was found on the 1000 seed weight and on the energy efficiency of seed yield.

5. The systems of soil cultivation modified the content of fat, fibre, nitrogen-free extracts, ash and calcium, as well as the amount of protein fractions in yellow lupin seeds. However, foliar fertilization did not change the chemical composition of seeds.

6. The sowing value of yellow lupin seeds did not change due to the influence of soil cultivation systems and foliar nutrition and conformed to the standards of qualified sowing material. So for reproduction purposes, lupin may be grown using the soil cultivation systems applied.

7. Gross agricultural income in the cultivation of lupin for fodder was obtained in both simplified systems, while in the cultivation for sowing seeds each of the applied cultivation systems was profitable.

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Accepted for print: 20.03.2008

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