On the Effect of Vitamins B1, B2, PP, C, B6, B12, and Folic Acid on Corn Yield
The role of vitamins in plant life and their participation in various aspects of metabolic processes is now well understood.
Literature includes studies on the effects of soaking or infiltrating seeds with vitamin solutions. Some works provide data from experiments with corn.
Over two years, from 2019 to 2020, we conducted laboratory and field experiments to study the effectiveness of soaking corn seeds in solutions of certain vitamins.
Experimental Results
In the laboratory experiment, we tested B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), PP (nicotinic acid), C (ascorbic acid) at concentrations of 0.01% and 0.001%, and B12 (cobalamin) at a concentration of 0.002%, as well as a mixture of the listed vitamins, where the latter were included in concentrations of B1, B2, PP, and C at 0.001% and B12 at 0.002%. The control was distilled water. Samples (100 seeds each) were soaked for 24 hours, after which they were placed in porcelain germination dishes with quartz sand. The experiment was conducted in triplicate over 30 days.
Soaking in a solution of vitamin PP at concentrations of 0.01% and 0.001% increased seed germination, although a slight decrease was observed with vitamin B12 and the vitamin mixture. It should be noted that germination was accelerated under the influence of vitamins B2 (0.01%) and PP (0.01% and 0.001%). The highest leafiness was observed in plants treated with vitamins PP (0.01% and 0.001%) and C (0.001%), while the greatest height was achieved with vitamins B1 (0.01%), B2 (0.001%), and C (0.001%). B1 (0.01% and 0.001%), PP (0.001%), and the vitamin mixture provided significant growth in the dry mass of roots. This confirms our earlier data on the beneficial effects of thiamine and nicotinic acid on root growth and development.
The highest dry weight of plants was noted with vitamins B1 (0.01% and 0.001%), B2 (0.001%), PP (0.001%), C (0.001%), and the vitamin mixture, amounting to 118.8%, 115.5%, 115.5%, 118.1%, 116.5%, and 116.5% of the control, respectively.
The laboratory experiment variants that showed the best results were tested in field conditions in the Dnipropetrovsk region. No fertilizers were applied to the experimental plot, and the predecessor crop was barley. The area of the test plot was 54.9 m² in 2019 and 51 m² in 2020, with four replications. Standard agronomic practices adopted at the experimental field of our laboratory were followed.
In 2019, the tested vitamin concentrations were: B1 - 0.001%, B2 - 0.01%, PP - 0.001%, C - 0.001%, while in 2020, B6 (pyridoxine) - 0.001%, PP - 0.005%, Bс (folic acid) - 0.01%, and C - 0.01%; vitamins B1 and B2 were not included. The control was sown with dry seeds and seeds soaked in water (water control). Seeds were soaked in solutions for 24 hours and dried for 12 hours before sowing.
Phenological observations were conducted on the experimental variants, along with measurements of root and above-ground mass growth by absolute dry weight, plant height, leafiness, and the degree of leaf surface development.
In terms of volume and absolute dry weight of the root system (at the 3-leaf stage) in 2019, plants treated with vitamins B1 (130% by volume, 127.3% by weight), C (150% and 115.1%, respectively), and PP (125% and 112.1%) significantly exceeded the control. For height and leafiness at this stage, vitamins B1 (112.4% in height, 109.1% in leafiness), B2 (113.1% and 104.5%, respectively), PP (108% and 103.5%), and C (105.1% and 105.6%) provided increases over the control. The greatest increase in absolute dry weight of above-ground mass (116.7%) was achieved with vitamin PP, while other vitamins showed less significant increases.
In 2020, the increase over the control ranged from 120% (B6) to 128.4% (C) in height, from 110% (B6) to 113.7% (C) in leafiness, and from 132.3% (Bс) to 141.9% (C) in absolute dry weight of above-ground mass. Other vitamins provided increases within the ranges mentioned above.
At the 6-leaf stage in 2019, greater increases in plant height were observed with vitamins C (108.6%), B2 (107.6%), and B1 (105.4%); for leafiness, vitamins B1 (107.0%), C (105.3%), B2, and PP (103.5%); and for absolute dry weight of above-ground mass, vitamins B1 and C (112.8%), B2 (112.5%), and PP (108.6%). In 2020, increases in plant height were: vitamins C and Bс - 111%, PP - 107.5%, B6 - 105%; for leafiness: B6 - 116.3%, Bс - 115.9%, C - 114.1%, PP - 113.8%; and for absolute dry weight of above-ground mass: Bс - 152%, PP - 142.5%, B6 - 139%, C - 126%. The water control often exceeded the dry control in these indicators, but the increase was always smaller than with the vitamins.
At the tasseling and flowering stages, height was measured, plant counts were conducted, and chlorophyll content in leaves (by Guthrie) and peroxidase activity (by Pochinok) were determined.
The experiment was harvested manually at full maturity of the ears. Plots were fully assessed for yield, ear moisture at harvest, cob content, and grain yield was determined from average ear samples. Yield data are presented in the table.
In terms of ear and grain yield increases, vitamins PP and C stood out in 2019, while Bс and PP did so in 2020. Vitamins B1, B2, and B6 showed no noticeable effect on yield increase with this application method. Over the two-year period, vitamin C slightly increased yield (104% for ears and 103% for grain compared to the dry control).
Average ear weight was higher in 2019 with vitamins PP and C, and in 2020 with Bс and PP. The content of immature and non-standard ears was significantly lower when seeds were soaked in vitamin solutions: in 2019, with vitamin C - 45.7% of the control, PP - 59%; in 2020, under the influence of Bс - 87.7% and PP - 97.3%. The use of vitamins also increased the weight of 1000 grains.
Effect of Soaking Seeds in Vitamin Solutions on Corn Yield (2019-2020 Experiments)
| Ear Yield | Grain Yield at 15% Moisture | Average Weight per Ear | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variants | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | 2020 | ||||||||
| t/ha | % of Control | t/ha | % of Control | t/ha | % of Control | t/ha | % of Control | g | % of Control | g | % of Control | |||
| Control Water Control | 103.65 104.4 | 100.0 100.7 | 90.45 94.35 | 100.0 104.3 | 59.55 60.0 | 100.0 100.8 | 58.95 60.45 | 100.0 102.5 | 184.9 181.0 | 100.0 97.9 | 198.9 212.6 | 100.0 106.0 | ||
| 101.5 199.0 101.01 - 111.2 - | ||||||||||||||
| Vitamins: B1 | 104.1 | 100.4 | - | - | 58.65 | 98.5 | - | - | 193.4 | 104.7 | - | - | ||
| PP | 103.65 | 100.0 | - | - | 61.65 | 103.5 | - | - | 185.8 | 100.5 | - | - | ||
| C | 110.4 | 106.5 | 98.55 | 109.2 | 65.55 | 110.1 | 64.05 | 108.7 | 201.0 | 108.7 | 216.5 | 108.8 | ||
| B6 | 107.7 | 103.6 | 94.95 | 105.0 | 62.25 | 104.5 | 59.85 | 101.5 | - | - | 212.2 | 106.7 | ||
| Bс | - | - | 93.0 | 102.8 | - | - | 59.55 | 101.01 | - | - | 199.7 | 100.4 | ||
| - | - | - | 102.15 | 112.9 | - | - | 65.55 | 111.2 | - | - | 227.9 | 114.6 | ||
The experimental results show that increasing the content of vitamins B1, B2, PP, C, Bс, and B6 in corn seeds through soaking significantly affects root system growth, above-ground mass, and other corn plant development indicators. The most promising for yield increase are vitamin Bс, which increased ear yield by 12.9% and grain yield by 11.2% (2020 data), and PP, which increased ear yield by 7.9% and grain yield by 9.4% (two-year data).