Abstract

Foliar fertilization with nitrogen (N) and nickel (Ni) at the end of the vegetative stage can decrease the abortion of flowers and pods of the plants and increase the productivity and protein content of soybean. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of N and Ni foliar application on the yield components and oil and protein content in soybean. The experiment was performed in a completely randomized design with six treatments (control [only inoculation], urea, ammonium sulfate [AS], nickel chloride [NiCl2], NiCl2+ AS, and NiCl2+ urea) and five replicates. Foliar application with urea increased the soybean grain yield (GY) by 46%, whereas the NiCl2 foliar application or NiCl2+ urea and NiCl2+ AS applications decreased the GY, shoot dry weight (SDW), weight of pods per pot, root volume, and grain size. N (AS and urea) and NiCl2 foliar applications had no effect on the oil and protein content in the grains, and application of 60 g ha(-1) of Ni (132.4 g of NiCl2) caused a toxic effect on the plants and negatively influenced the GY and quality of grains.