Investigating the Integrated Management of Sulfur Element and Organic Fertilizer on the Yield and Yield Components of Oilseed Flax (Linum usitatissimum) in the Ahvaz Conditions

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

L Naserimagham

E Fateh

A Aynehband

Department of Plant Production and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

10.22067/jcesc.2025.96034.1428

Abstract

Introduction
Flax (Linum usitatissimum) is an annual plant with a stem height of 30 to 50 centimeters. Unlike fiber flax, oil flax has a stem with several branches. Oil flax seeds contain 22% protein, 6.5% crude fiber and 30 to 40% oil. They are of particular importance due to the presence of some essential amino acids such as lecithin 3.8%, methionine 2.3% and tryptophan 1.9%. One way to increase flax yield is to apply agronomic management practices such as appropriate planting date and optimal nutrient intake. On the other hand, although flax is adaptable to adverse environmental conditions and lands with low fertility levels, and accordingly its cultivation can be expanded in different agro-ecological conditions, the area under cultivation of this plant is very small. Considering the role of Thiobacillus bacteria in the oxidation and dissolution of nutrients, it seems that the use of these bacteria along with organic fertilizer can enable the use of available nutrients and lead to improvement of the physicochemical properties and biological activities of the soil. Accordingly, the purpose of this experiment is to study the effect of Thiobacillus bacteria and different levels of sulfur and organic fertilizer on flax yield and yield components.

Materials and Methods
This experiment was conducted at Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz, in the 1401-1402 crop year to investigate the effect of Thiobacillus bacteria, sulfur application, and organic fertilizer on the yield and growth of oilseed flax under Ahvaz conditions. The experiment was conducted as a factorial design based on randomized complete blocks with 3 replications.The first factor included different levels of sulfur and Thiobacillus at 5 levels including: control (without the use of sulfur and Thiobacillus), 200 kg of sulfur per hectare, 400 kg of sulfur per hectare, 100 kg of sulfur per hectare with Thiobacillus bacterial inoculum, and 200 kg of sulfur per hectare with Thiobacillus bacterial inoculum.The second factor included the use of organic fertilizer at three levels: control (no use of organic fertilizer), 6 tons of vermicompost, and 6 tons of sugarcane bagasse compost. The measured traits included yield and yield components.

Results and Discussion
The results showed that, among the different organic fertilizer treatments, the control (no organic fertilizer) produced the lowest number of branches per plant (7.03), capsules per plant (185), and seeds per capsule (7.3). In contrast, the application of 6 t ha⁻¹ vermicompost resulted in the highest number of branches per plant (7.9), number of secondary branches (1.34), 1000-seed weight (1.6 g), and grain yield (3218 kg ha⁻¹). In the study of different levels of sulfur and Thiobacillus application, it was found that the lowest average number of branches (6.4 branches), number of secondary branches (26.2 branches), number of seeds per capsule (1.7 seeds), and weight of 1,000 seeds (5.8 g) were related to the control treatment (no use of sulfur and Thiobacillus). The highest number of branches (7.9 branches) and grain yield (3838 kg ha^-1) were related to the treatment of 200 kg sulfur ha^-1 + Thiobacillus bacterial inoculum. In the study of different levels of sulfur and Thiobacillus application, it was found that the lowest average number of branches (6.4 branches), number of secondary branches (26.2 branches), number of seeds per capsule (1.7 seeds), and weight of 1,000 seeds (5.8 grams) were related to the control treatment (no use of sulfur and Thiobacillus). The highest number of branches (7.9 branches) and grain yield (3838 kg ha^-1) were related to the treatment of 200 kg sulfur ha^-1 + Thiobacillus bacterial inoculum.

Conclusion
Therefore, the application of vermicompost among organic fertilizer levels and the treatment of 200 kg sulfur per hectare + Thiobacillus inoculum among sulfur and Thiobacillus levels had a positive effect, and the combined application of this treatment led to improved seed yield and yield components of oilseed flax.

Keywords

Bacteria

Bagasse

Compost

Thiobacillus

Vermicompost

Subjects

• Biofertilizers

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Authors retain the copyright. This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)

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