نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
عنوان مقاله English
نویسندگان English
Introduction
Mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) belongs to the Fabaceae family and originates in Southeast Asia. It is widely cultivated worldwide, particularly in Asia, for human consumption, with annual production exceeding 4.5 million tons. Due to its high protein content, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, and essential vitamins, mung bean plays a significant role in food security. In addition, it contributes to soil fertility through atmospheric nitrogen fixation by rhizobium bacteria. In Afghanistan, mung bean is particularly important because of its high nutritional value and low water requirement. However, its production faces several challenges, including a lack of improved seeds, limited access to modern equipment, and poor nutrient management. In this context, the use of organic fertilizers has been proposed as a sustainable approach to improve growth and yield. These fertilizers enhance soil physical, chemical, and biological properties while supplying essential nutrients. Humic acid, as an effective organic compound, improves soil structure, increases nutrient uptake, and promotes plant growth. Its combined application with organic fertilizers can enhance photosynthesis, biomass, and grain yield. Due to the lack of sufficient studies under the climatic conditions of Afghanestan, this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of humic acid and farmyard manure on the growth and yield of mung bean in Samangan province.
Materials and Methods
The study was conducted during the 2025 season at the research farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Samangan University, located in the Old City of Samangan Province, Afghanistan, at an altitude of 962 m above sea level. The experiment was arranged as a factorial in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The experimental factors consisted of fertilizer at three levels (control: 0, humic acid: 50 kg.ha⁻¹, and farmyard manure: 40 t.ha⁻¹) and genotype at two levels (Afghanestan landrace and Uzbekestan landrace). Before sowing, farmyard manure was uniformly incorporated into the soil one month before planting. Each experimental plot measured 2 × 2 m (4 m²), and the seeds were uniformly sown by hand broadcasting. Humic acid was applied once in solid form at the 2–3 leaf stage. Irrigation was carried out using the flood irrigation method according to crop water requirements at approximately 7-day intervals. Weeds were manually controlled at two stages, 20 and 40 days after sowing. Measured traits included phenological, growth, and yield-related characteristics, including plant height, number of pods per plant, 1000-seed weight, grain yield, biological yield, harvest index, and relative water content. The data were tested for normality prior to statistical analysis using IBM SPSS Statistics version 25. Treatment means were compared using Duncan’s multiple range test at the 5% probability level (P ≤ 0.05). Graphs were generated using Microsoft Excel.
Results and Discussion
The results of analysis of variance showed that there were significant differences among mung bean landraces and fertilizer treatments for most traits. The shortest period to the three-leaf stage was observed in the control treatment, which may be attributed to the use of seed storage during early seedling growth. Among the treatments, humic acid had the greatest effect on the growth and yield of mung bean. In the Uzbekestan landrace, this treatment increased leaf length and width by 51.7% and 79%, respectively, number of branches by 63.7%, number of pods by 51.9%, number of seeds per pod by 65.33%, 1000-seed weight by 11%, seed yield by 69.3%, biological yield by 66%, dry matter yield by 65.4%, and relative water content of leaf by 3.3%, compared to the control. Furthermore, in the Afghanestan landrace, humic acid increased plant height and number of leaves by 16.8% and 46.4%, respectively, compared to the control treatment. In addition, the application of humic acid in the Uzbekestan landrace reduced the days to flowering and days to maturity by 23.6% and 7.5%, respectively, compared to the control.
Conclusions
The results showed that the application of farmyard manure and humic acid could significantly increase the growth parameters and yield of mung bean. Among the treatments studied, humic acid performed better than farmyard manure in most of the studied traits; in the Afghanestan landrace, the highest plant height and number of leaves were observed under this treatment, while in the Uzbekestan landrace, the greatest leaf length and leaf width, highest number of branches, and highest number of pods and seeds per pod were recorded with humic acid application. Furthermore, humic acid significantly reduced the days to flowering and days to maturity. The Uzbekestan landrace showed a better response than the Afghanestan landrace in most of the traits studied, with the highest 1000-seed weight, seed yield, biomass, harvest index, stem dry weight, and relative leaf water content being observed in this landrace under humic acid treatment. Overall, the results of this study showed that the application of humic acid at a rate of 50 kg.ha⁻¹ improved the growth and yield of mung bean landraces under the climatic conditions of Afghanistan, and it can be used as an effective strategy to improve the production of this crop in the region.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank our esteemed colleagues at Samangan University.
کلیدواژهها English
Authors retain the copyright. This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)
