Infuence of Seed Coating with Micronutrients on Growth and Yield of Winter Wheat in Southeastern Coastal Plains

Polymer seed coating with micronutrients may provide important nutrients during plant growth and improve yields. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of three seed application rates (265, 395 and 530 mL 100 kg seeds^-1) of polymer based mixture of Copper (Cu), Manganese (Mn) and Zinc (Zn) micronutrients on dryland winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) near Blackville, SC from 2010 to 2012. Compared to untreated control, seed coating significantly increased grain yields by 5.0 and 2.1% with seed applications at 530 and 395 mL 100 kg seeds^-1, respectively. Dry matter yield improved over control by 13.4, 22.6 and 20.7%, N uptake by 13.9, 24.6 and 19.3% and P in plant biomass by 16.0, 23.3 and 21.3% with seed applications at 265, 395 and 530 mL 100 kg seeds^-1, respectively. Coating application of 265 mL 100 kg seeds^-1 increased grain N content by 5.0% compared to control. Grain P uptake was greater with seed application rates of 265 and 395 mL 100 kg seeds^-1 (0.415 and 0.399%, respectively) than 530 mL 100 kg seeds^-1 (0.385%). Significantly higher grain Cu uptake was observed at rate of 395 mL 100 kg seeds^-1 than 265 and 530 mL 100 kg seeds^-1. Based on significant linear relationships, increasing dry matter yield and N uptake by 1 kg ha^-1, Zn content in plant biomass and grain Cu content by 1 ppm and plant height by 1 cm, increased grain yields by 2.6, 369.3, 27.8, 18.3 and 58.3 kg ha^-1, respectively. Grain yields improved by 706.4, 357.4 and 436.2 kg ha^-1 with increasing plant Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) by 0.1 unit at 16, 18 and 21 weeks after planting. These results indicate that polymer seed coating may help improve some nutrient uptake and production of dryland winter wheat in Southeastern Coastal Plains.