Effect of nitrogen rate on seed yield, protein and oil content of two canola (Brassica napus L.) cultivars

A field experiment was conducted at Rice Research Station, Tonekabon, Iran, to determine the effect of N rate on seed yield, protein and oil content of two canola (Brassica napus L.) cultivars. Two canola cultivars (‘Hayola-308’ and ‘RGS- 003’) and five N rates (0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 kg ha-1), organized into a randomized complete block design with a factorial treatment arrangement and three blocks, were applied to plot areas. Results showed that N rate effect was significant (P < 0.01) for seed yield, protein content and yield, and oil yield but not for oil content. On the other hand, cultivar had only significant (P < 0.01) effect on seed protein and oil content. Moreover, the interaction between N rate and cultivar was significant at P < 0.01 for seed, protein and oil yield, illustrating that cultivars showed different responses to N rates for these traits. In general, the quadratic equation provided a good description of the relationship between seed, protein and oil yield and nitrogen rate. For ‘Hayola-308’, seed, protein and oil yield increased significantly as N application rate increased from 0 to 150 kg ha-1, but thereafter remained constant. In contrast, for ‘RGS-003’, seed, protein and oil yield increased significantly as N application rate increased from 0 to 200 kg ha-1. Therefore, at the highest N application rate (200 kg ha-1), ‘RGS-003’ produced greater seed, protein and oil yield than ‘Hayola-308’. Averaged across N application rate, the seed protein content of RGS-003 was significantly (P < 0.01) higher than that of ‘Hayola-308’, while the opposite result was observed for seed oil content. This study demonstrated the differential response of two canola cultivars to N rate in terms of seed, protein and oil yield.