Effect of Applying Different Levels of Humic Acid and Salicylic Acid on Yield and Quality of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Seed

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Department of Plant Production and Genetics, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran

Abstract

Introduction
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the most significant crops in the legume family, ranking third globally after beans and peas. This plant plays a crucial role in biological stabilization and serves as an important source of nutrition for humans, as well as animal feed and forage. The majority of chickpea production in Iran occurs through spring sowing under rain-fed conditions, where terminal drought stress particularly during seed filling significantly impacts growth and productivity, leading to yield reductions of up to 70%. To enhance plant growth under dryland conditions, using compounds that improve drought tolerance and metabolic activities in plants represents a practical strategy. Among the identified compounds, humic acid (HA) and salicylic acid (SA) have shown promise. Humic acid has a significant effect on root growth and the emergence of lateral roots and increases the levels of auxins, cytokinins, and gibberellins in plants Salicylic acid stimulates flowering and enhances defensive responses to water deficiency conditions. External application of SA reduces cellular lipid peroxidation and hydrogen peroxide accumulation, thereby mitigating membrane damage in leaves of water-stressed plants. Thus, this study aims to investigate the effects of varying levels of humic acid and salicylic acid on the yield and quality of chickpea seeds.
Materials and Methods
This study was conducted as a factorial experiment based on a randomized complete block design with four replications. The experimental factors included foliar spraying of humic acid at three levels: 0, 3, and 6 L ha-1 as the first factor, and salicylic acid at four levels: 0, 50, 100, and 150 mg L-1 as the second factor. The plants were sprayed with these treatments at two stages: during vegetative growth and just before flowering. The following variables were measured in this experiment: number of pods per plant, seeds per square meter, weight of 100 seeds, grain yield, biological yield, harvest index, and the content of protein, potassium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and manganese in the seeds. The experimental data were analyzed using SAS 9.1 statistical software, and the comparison of the means was conducted based on the Least Significant Difference (LSD) test at the 1% and 5% probability levels.
Results and Discussion
Results revealed significant effects of salicylic acid on pod number per plant, seed number per square meter, 100 seed weight and seed and biological yield, while humic acid did not have a significant effect on chickpea yield and yield components. The highest number of pods per plant (20.95) was achieved with the application of 150 mg L-1 of salicylic acid. Foliar spraying with this concentration led to increases of 35.27% in the number of seeds per square meter and 26.80% in the weight of 100 seeds, compared to the untreated control. Additionally, the application of 150 mg L-1 salicylic acid resulted in the highest seed yield (1488.85 kg ha-1) and biological yield (3451.93 kg ha-1). Results indicated significant effects of both humic and salicylic acid on the protein content and nutrient levels (potassium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and manganese) of chickpea seeds. As the concentration of salicylic acid and humic acid increased, so did the levels of protein and potassium in the seeds. Conversely, foliar applications of humic acid and salicylic acid on chickpea plants not only enhanced the nutrient content and protein levels in chickpea seeds but also improved the overall quality of the seeds.
Conclusion
This study highlights the effectiveness of foliar application of humic acid at 6 L ha⁻¹ and salicylic acid at 150 mg L⁻¹ in improving growth, yield, and nutritional quality of chickpeas under dryland conditions. Salicylic acid particularly enhanced reproductive success and biomass allocation, whereas humic acid improved nutrient availability and metabolic activity. These findings suggest that simultaneous applications of HA and SA could serve as effective strategies for boosting chickpea productivity and quality under challenging dryland farming conditions.

Keywords

Main Subjects

©2025 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source.

References

  1. Abbood, A. A., & Al-Madhhachi, A. S. T. (2021). Quantifying mechanistic detachment parameters due to humic acids in biological soil crusts. Land, 10(11), 1180. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10111180
  2. Ahmad, B., Hussain, F., Shuaib, M., Shahbaz, M., Hadayat, N., Shah, M., Yaseen, T., Rauf, A., Anwar, J., Khan, S. H., Jabeen, A., & Alharbi, K. (2023). Effect of salicylic acid and amino acid on pea plant (Pisum sativum) late season, growth and production. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, 32(3), 1987-1994.
  3. Ahmed, N. J., & Ali, K. A. (2024). Effect of exogenous salicylic acid foliar spray on growth, yield and chemical content of sesame crop (Sesamum indicum) under drought stress. Sarhad Journal of Agriculture, 40(3), 702-712. https://dx.doi.org/10.17582/journal.sja/2024/40.3.702.712
  4. Alfatlawi, Z. H. C., & Alrubaiee, S. H. A. W. (2020). Effect of spraying different concentrations of humic acid on the growth and yield of wheat crop (ipa 99 cultivar) in different stages. Plant Archives, 20(2), 1517-1521.
  5. Ali, B., & Terefe, H. (2023). Host resistance by sowing date interaction reduced Fusarium wilt pressure and improved grain yield of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) in North Shoa, Ethiopia. Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment, 6(3), e20400. https://doi.org/10.1002/agg2.20400
  6. Ali, E. S. A., Abd EL-Kader, M. N., Ahmed, M. A., & Morsy, A. S. (2022). Effect of irrigation intervals and foliar spray with salicylic acid on the production of two bread wheat cultivars in newly Reclaimed land. Assiut Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 53(3), 55-71.
  7. Alotaibi, M., El-Hendawy, S., Mohammed, N., Alsamin, B., Al-Suhaibani, N., & Refay, Y. (2023). Effects of salicylic acid and macro-and micronutrients through foliar and soil applications on the agronomic performance, physiological attributes, and water productivity of wheat under normal and limited irrigation in dry climatic conditions. Plants, 12(12), 2389. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12122389
  8. Altaf, A., Nawaz, F., Majeed, S., Ahsan, M., Ahmad, K. S., Akhtar, G., & Farman, M. (2023). Foliar humic acid and salicylic acid application stimulates physiological responses and antioxidant systems to improve maize yield under water limitations. JSFA Reports, 3(3), 119-128. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsf2.106
  9. Al-wattar, M. J. M., & Al-Hamdani, K. M. (2021). Efficiency of salicylic acid application on growth and yield of chickpea (Cicer arietinum). Euphrates Journal of Agricultural Science, 13(4), 124-135.
  10. Amiri, M. B., Esmaeilian, Y., & Alboghobiesh, M. (2022). Effect of humic and salicylic acids spraying on some morphological characteristics, yield and yield components of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) in different levels of irrigation. Iranian Journal of Field Crop Science, 53(1), 55-67. (in Persian with English abstract). https://doi.org/10.22059/ijfcs.2020.311183.654757
  11. Anjum, M. A., Sarfraz, M., Qureshi, M. A., Rizwan, M., Naz, A., Ahmed, K., Saqib, M., Nawaz, M., Ali, M., Khalid, M., Nazarat, A & Al, A. (2022). Impact of salicylic acid on wheat growth and nutrient uptake in salinized environments. Journal of Pure and applied Agriculture, 7(3), 1-7.
  12. Arpali, D., Furan, M. A., & Ozturkci, Y. (2016). Recovering wheat (Triticum aestivum) to intake mineral nutrient components under drought stress with salicylic acid. FEB-Fresenius Environ Bullet, 3395. 539 pp.
  13. Arshad, A., Qamar, H., Siti-Sundari, R., Zhang, Y., Zubair, M., Raza, M. A., Rehman, M., Zhang, L. (2020). Phenotypic plasticity of spineless safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) cultivars in response to exogenous application of salicylic acid under rainfed climate conditions. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Research, 33(4), 729. http://dx.doi.org/10.17582/journal.pjar/2020/33.4.729.743
  14. Awad, A. A., El-Taib, A. B., Sweed, A. A., & Omran, A. A. (2022). Nutrient contents and productivity of Triticum aestivum plants grown in clay loam soil depending on humic substances and varieties and their interactions. Agronomy, 12(3), 705. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12030705
  15. Barzegar, T., Mahmoodi, S., Nekounam, F., Ghahremani, Z., & Khademi, O. (2022). Effects of humic acid and cytokinin on yield, biochemical attributes and nutrient elements of radish (Raphanus sativus) cv. Watermelon. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 45(10), 1582-1598. https://doi.org/10.1080/01904167.2021.2003395
  16. Chapman, H. D., & Pratt, P. F. (1962). Methods of analysis for soils, plants and waters. Soil Science, 93(1), 68.
  17. Dobón-Suárez, A., Giménez, M. J., García-Pastor, M. E., & Zapata, P. J. (2021). Salicylic acid foliar application increases crop yield and quality parameters of green pepper fruit during postharvest storage. Agronomy, 11(11), 2263. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11112263
  18. Dönder, E., & Toğay. (2021). The effect of humic acid and potassium applications on the yield and yield components in chickpea (Cicer arietinum). ISPEC Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 5(3), 568-574.
  19. FAO. (2022). Food and agriculture organisation of the United Nations. Rome, Italy. FAOSTAT. 2022. Rome. Available online: https://www.fao.org/faostat/es/#data/QCL (accessed on 17 December 2021).
  20. Ghalambaz, S., Roshanfekr, H., Rahnama Ghahfarokhi, A., & Monsefi, A. (2024). Effect of salicylic acid foliar application on physiological indices and induction of terminal heat stress tolerance of quinoa in Ahvaz. Iranian Journal of Field Crops Research, 22(2), 137-154. (in Persian with English abstract). https://doi.org/10.22067/jcesc.2024.84530.1275
  21. Gomes, G. A., Pereira, R. A., Sodré, G. A., & Gross, E. (2019). Humic acids from vermicompost positively influence the nutrient uptake in mangosteen seedlings1. Pesquisa Agropecuária Tropical, 49, e55529. https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-40632019v4955529
  22. Gorni, P. H., Pacheco, A. C., Moro, A. L., Silva, J. F. A., Moreli, R. R., de Miranda, G. R., Pelegrini, J, M., Bronzel, da Silva, R. M. G. (2020). Salicylic acid foliar application increases biomass, nutrient assimilation, primary metabolites and essential oil content in Achillea millefoliumScientia Horticulturae, 270, 109436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2020.109436
  23. Hafez, E., & Farig, M. (2019). Efficacy of salicylic acid as a cofactor for ameliorating effects of water stress and enhancing wheat yield and water use efficiency in saline soil. International Journal of Plant Production, 13(2), 163-176.
  24. Haranal, K., Hanumanthappa, M., Mavarkar, N. S., & Mopagar, M. M. (2024). Humic acid foliation and nutrient levels concerning yield and quality of sweet corn (Zea mays Convar. Saccharata). Journal of Experimental Agriculture International, 46(8), 535-542. https://doi.org/10.9734/jeai/2024/v46i82733
  25. Hassan, H., Suleiman, S., & Dais, M. A. (2022). Effect of spraying humic acid and salicylic acid on potato leaf area, yield and quality at two different levels of field capacity. Al-Qadisiyah Journal of Pure Science, 27(1), 1-12.
  26. Hayati, A., Hosseini, S. M., Rahimi, M. M., & Kelidari, A. (2022). The effect of humic acid and nano-chelate iron on the absorption of some nutrients, grain yield, oil, and essential oil of (Nigella sativa) under drought stress. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 53(14), 1744-1755. https://doi.org/10.1080/00103624.2022.2063319
  27. Hosseini Nik, M. H., Shokuhfar, A., & Payandeh, K. (2022). Effect of combination of the humic acid and nano-potassium fertilizer on yield, yield components and protein percentage of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata). Iranian Journal of Pulses Research, 13(2), 50-61. (in Persian with English abstract). https://doi.org/10.22067/ijpr.v13i2.2202-1022
  28. Hussein, M. M., Rezk, A. I., El-Nasharty, A. B., & Mehanna, H. M. (2015). Nutritional and growth response of canola plants to salicylic acid under salt stress conditions. International Journal of ChemTech Research, 8(6), 574-581.
  29. Izhar Shafi, M., Adnan, M., Fahad, S., Wahid, F., Khan, A., Yue, Z., Danish, S., Hey, M., Brtnicky, M., & Datta, R. (2020). Application of single superphosphate with humic acid improves the growth, yield and phosphorus uptake of wheat (Triticum aestivum) in calcareous soil. Agronomy, 10(9), 1224. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10091224
  30. Jones, J. J., Wolf, B., & Mills, H. A. (1991). Plant Analysis Handbook. A practical sampling, preparation, analysis, and interpretation guide. pp. 213-pp). Micro-Macro Publishing, Inc, Athens, Georgia.
  31. Kareem, F., Rihan, H., & Fuller, M. (2017). The effect of exogenous applications of salicylic acid and molybdenum on the tolerance of drought in wheat. Agricultural Research & Technology: Open Access Journal (ARTOAJ), 41(2), 110-214.
  32. Karimizadeh, R., Pezeshkpour, P., Mirzaee, A., Barzali, M., Sharifi, P., Khoshkhoy Nilash, E. A., & Safari Motlagh, M. R. (2023). Identification of stable chickpeas under dryland conditions by mixed models. Legume Science, 5(4), e206. https://doi.org/10.1002/leg3.206
  33. Khademian, R., & Yaghoubian, I. (2018). Growth of chick pea (Cicer arietinum) in response to salicylic acid under drought stress. Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences, 12, 255-263.
  34. Kuchlan, P., & Kuchlan, M. K. (2023). Effect of salicylic acid on plant physiological and yield traits of soybean. Legume Research-An International Journal, 46(1), 56-61. https://doi.org/18805/LR-4527
  35. Lithourgidis, A. S., Vasilakoglou, I. B., Dhima, K. V., Dordas, C. A., & Yiakoulaki, M. D. (2006). Forage yield and quality of common vetch mixtures with oat and triticale in two seeding ratios. Field Crops Research, 99(2-3), 106-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2006.03.008
  36. Mahmood, Y. A., Ahmed, F. W., Juma, S. S., & Al-Arazah, A. A. (2019). Effect of solid and liquid organic fertilizer and spray with humic acid and nutrient uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium on growth, yield of cauliflower. Plant Archives, 19(2), 1504-1509.
  37. Maleki, H. H., Khoshro, H. H., Kanouni, H., Shobeiri, S. S., & Ashour, B. M. (2024). Identifying dryland-resilient chickpea genotypes for autumn sowing, with a focus on multi-trait stability parameters and biochemical enzyme activity. BMC Plant Biology, 24(1), 750. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-024-05463-0
  38. Meena, M. K., Dhanoji, M. M., & Naik, M. C. (2023). In luence of humic acid foliar spray on physiological growth indices in redgram (Cajanus Cajan). Agriculture Association of Textile Chemical and Critical Reviews Journal, 11(2), 378-384.
  39. Moazam Babasheikhali, M., Jabbarzadeh, Z., Amiri, J., & Barin, M. (2020). Impact of salicylic acid and nitric oxide on improving growth and nutrients uptake of rose in alkaline soil conditions. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 43(5), 667-681. https://doi.org/10.1080/01904167.2019.1701023
  40. Mohamed, A. S., Mohamed, M. H., Halawa, S. S., & Saleh, S. A. (2023). Partial exchange of mineral N fertilizer for common bean plants by organic N fertilizer in the presence of salicylic acid as foliar application. Gesunde Pflanzen, 75(5), 2009-2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10343-023-00834-3
  41. Nayyef, A. G., & Hammadi, H. J. (2021). Effect of activating of salicylic acid and foliar application with humic acid on some growth and yield characteristics of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 761(1), 012076. IOP Publishing.
  42. Pappula-Reddy, S. P., Kumar, S., Pang, J., Chellapilla, B., Pal, M., Millar, A. H., & Siddique, K. H. (2024). High-throughput phenotyping for terminal drought stress in chickpea (Cicer arietinum). Plant Stress, 11, 100386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stress.2024.100386
  43. Rahimi-Moghaddam, S., Amiri, S., & Eyni-Nargeseh, H. (2023). Assessing chickpea attainable yield and closing the yield gaps caused by agronomic and genetic factors. Field Crops Research, 303, 109137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2023.109137
  44. Rajabi Dehnavi, A., Zahedi, M., Razmjoo, J., & Eshghizadeh, H. (2019). Effect of exogenous application of salicylic acid on salt-stressed sorghum growth and nutrient contents. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 42(11-12), 1333-1349. https://doi.org/10.1080/01904167.2019.1617307
  45. Sahraei, S., & Sepehri, A. (2022). Effect of pseudo-hormones growth regulators on growth and yield of two new Kabuli cultivars of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) in rainfed conditions. Iranian Journal of Pulses Research, 13(2), 191-206. (in Persian with English abstract). https://doi.org/10.22067/ijpr.v13i2.2205-1034
  46. Salmanpour, V., Sharafi, S., Rezaei, M., Khalily, M., & Abbaspour, N. (2022). Evaluation of the effect of foliar application of potassium, salicylic acid and gamma aminobutyric acid on yield, yield components and uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in bread wheat genotypes under soil salinity stress conditions. Journal of Agricultural Science and Sustainable Production, 32(3), 133-148. (in Persian with English abstract). https://doi.org/10.22034/saps.2021.46995.2707
  47. Shiroui, H., Hatami, A., Zeidali, E., & Alizadeh, Y. (2023). Effect of foliar application of salicylic acid and biofertilizers on yield and yield components of chickpea cultivars (Cicer arientinum) in dryland conditions. Plant Production and Genetics, 4(1), 71-86. https://doi.org/10.34785/J020.2022.017
  48. Singh, A. K., Mubeen, M., Kaleem, K., Khan, N., Sachan, D. S., & Mued, M. (2024). Effect of different levels of humic acid and salicylic acid on yield parameters and yield of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata). Asian Research Journal of Agriculture, 17(2), 272-277.
  49. Singh, V., Gupta, K., Singh, S., Jain, M., & Garg, R. (2023). Unravelling the molecular mechanism underlying drought stress response in chickpea via integrated multi-omics analysis. Frontiers in Plant Science, 14, 1156606. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1156606
  50. Talaat, N. B., Mahmoud, A. W. M., & Hanafy, A. M. (2023). Co-application of salicylic acid and spermine alleviates salt stress toxicity in wheat: growth, nutrient acquisition, osmolytes accumulation, and antioxidant response. Acta Physiologiae Plantarum, 45(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-022-03485-5
  51. Tomar, M., Chaplot, P. C., Choudhary, J., Meena, R. H., Patidar, R., & Samota, A. K. (2022). Effect of salicylic acid and biochar on nutrient content and uptake of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) under rainfed condition. Biological Forum-An International Journal,14(3) 613-616.
  52. Torabi, S., Alahdadi, I., Akbari, G. A., Ghorbani Javid, M., & Fotovat, R. (2023). Effects of foliar application of salicylic acid and nanosilicon on the yield and physiological traits of maize (Zea mays) in heavy metal contaminated fields. Iranian Journal of Field Crop Science, 54(1), 151-168. (in Persian with English abstract). https://doi.org/10.22059/ijfcs.2022.346622.654931
  53. Younespour, M. P., Samdeliri, M., Mazloom, P., Mirkalaei, A. M., & Moballeghi, M. (2023). Effect of foliar application of salicylic acid and mycorrhiza on quantitative and qualitative traits of maize. Brazilian Journal of Biology, 83, e274601. https://doi.org/10.1590/1519-6984.274601
  54. Zanin, L., Tomasi, N., Cesco, S., Varanini, Z., & Pinton, R. (2019). Humic substances contribute to plant iron nutrition acting as chelators and biostimulants. Frontiers in Plant Science, 10, 675. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.00675
Send comment about this article
CAPTCHA Image
Iranian Journal of Field Crops Research
Volume 23, Issue 3 - Serial Number 79
September 2025
Pages 303-320

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 03 October 2024
  • Revise Date: 15 November 2024
  • Accept Date: 02 December 2024
  • First Publish Date: 13 April 2025

Share

How to cite

Statistics