Abstract
Studies in China have shown that fulvic acid (FA), applied after maximum leaf area is achieved, substantially increases the yield of wheat over a wide range of yield levels. The effects were greatest when there was a sustained drought and hot, dry winds. Yield increases appeared to result from the effect that FA had on stomatal conductance and leaf senescence. We report here the responses of predominantly Australian wheat genotypes to FA applied in both glasshouse and field. FA, extracted from coal in Australia or China, was applied to the leaves of wheat plants as a 0.05 or 0.1% spray. Although it reduced stomatal conductance by as much as 55% in particular studies and stimulated the growth of seedlings in other studies, the results were neither consistent nor predictable. We were unable to define a set of conditions under which the maximum effect could always be obtained. In the field studies, three slightly droughted crops were sprayed between late-boot stage and ear emergence. The effects of FA on stomatal conductance were variable amongst treatments 4 h after application, and had virtually disappeared one week later. Grain yield and harvest index were unchanged by FA. Similarly, in glasshouse studies, FA applied to plants at the onset of drought at four stages of development commencing at flag-leaf-emergence had no effect on grain yield or water use. It is concluded that, while FA does appear to have some effects in wheat, we were unable to identify the conditions required for it to influence grain yield and water use. We therefore recommend caution in its use as a foliar spray until these conditions can be defined.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record, shown for indexing and research. Copyright remains with the authors or the publisher. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
Fulvic acid reduced stomatal conductance by as much as 55% in some studies.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivume0 - Treatment
- FAe0
- Outcome
- stomatal conductancee1
- Direction
- reducede1
- Value
- 55%e1
- Qualifier
- in particular studiese1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the responses of predominantly Australian wheat genotypes to FA applied in both glasshouse and field”
e1“reduced stomatal conductance by as much as 55% in particular studies”
Claim · model-written summary
Fulvic acid stimulated seedling growth in other studies.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- FAe0
- Outcome
- growth of seedlingse1
- Direction
- stimulatede1
- Qualifier
- in other studiese1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the responses of predominantly Australian wheat genotypes to FA applied in both glasshouse and field”
e1“stimulated the growth of seedlings in other studies”
Claim · model-written summary
The results of fulvic acid applications on wheat were neither consistent nor predictable.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Outcome
- the resultse1
- Qualifier
- neither consistent nor predictablee1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the responses of predominantly Australian wheat genotypes to FA applied in both glasshouse and field”
e1“the results were neither consistent nor predictable”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors could not define conditions under which the maximum fulvic acid effect could always be obtained.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Outcome
- a set of conditions under which the maximum effect could always be obtainede1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the responses of predominantly Australian wheat genotypes to FA applied in both glasshouse and field”
e1“We were unable to define a set of conditions under which the maximum effect could always be obtained”
Claim · model-written summary
In field trials, fulvic acid sprays made stomatal conductance variable 4 h after application.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- FAe0
- Outcome
- stomatal conductancee1
- Direction
- were variablee1
- Qualifier
- 4 h after applicatione1
- Setting
- field studiese2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the responses of predominantly Australian wheat genotypes to FA applied in both glasshouse and field”
e1“The effects of FA on stomatal conductance were variable amongst treatments 4 h after application, and had virtually disappeared one week later”
e2“In the field studies, three slightly droughted crops were sprayed between late-boot stage and ear emergence”
Claim · model-written summary
Fulvic acid effects on stomatal conductance had virtually disappeared one week after application in wheat.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- FAe0
- Outcome
- stomatal conductancee1
- Direction
- had virtually disappearede1
- Qualifier
- one week latere1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the responses of predominantly Australian wheat genotypes to FA applied in both glasshouse and field”
e1“The effects of FA on stomatal conductance were variable amongst treatments 4 h after application, and had virtually disappeared one week later”
Claim · model-written summary
Fulvic acid did not change grain yield or harvest index of wheat.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- FAe1
- Outcome
- Grain yield and harvest indexe1
- Direction
- unchangede1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the responses of predominantly Australian wheat genotypes to FA applied in both glasshouse and field”
e1“Grain yield and harvest index were unchanged by FA”
Claim · model-written summary
Fulvic acid applied at the onset of drought in glasshouse studies had no effect on grain yield or water use of wheat.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- FA applied to plants at the onset of droughte1
- Outcome
- grain yield or water usee1
- Direction
- had no effecte1
- Qualifier
- at four stages of development commencing at flag-leaf-emergencee1
- Setting
- glasshouse studiese1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the responses of predominantly Australian wheat genotypes to FA applied in both glasshouse and field”
e1“in glasshouse studies, FA applied to plants at the onset of drought at four stages of development commencing at flag-leaf-emergence had no effect on grain yield or water use”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors recommend caution in foliar spraying of fulvic acid on wheat until the conditions for its effect are defined.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Outcome
- caution in its use as a foliar spraye1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the responses of predominantly Australian wheat genotypes to FA applied in both glasshouse and field”
e1“We therefore recommend caution in its use as a foliar spray until these conditions can be defined”
The same questions in other papers
other · physiology: water · Triticum aestivum (wheat)Positive and negative results
16 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
13 papers more in this group
See all 17 papers →drought · physiology: water · Triticum aestivum (wheat)Positive and negative results
145 papers in the same direction as this paper · 60 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
202 papers more in this group
See all 206 papers →other · yield · Triticum aestivum (wheat)Positive and negative results
16 papers in the same direction as this paper · 206 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
219 papers more in this group
See all 223 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.