Effects of Mineral Nutrition on Seed Yield and Quality of Mustard (Brassica Juncea)

Mustard (Brassica juncea) is a significant component of the world production of vegetable oils. Mustard is a thermophilic and very drought-resistant plant well adapted for dry continental climates. Mustard (Brassica juncea) is a drought-resistant crop which can tolerate water stress and can be grown in rotation with other crop species. Mustard is relatively undemanding to soil and it can even grow on saline soils. The nutrients most important for the growth and development of mustard are nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). The study was conducted during the 2009, 2010 and 2011 growing seasons on a meadowchestnut soil at the "Agrouniversity" experiment station of the Kazakh National Agrarian University at Almaty, Kazakhstan to evaluate the effect of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers on the production of mustard in short crop rotations. Nitrogen rates of 0,40 and 75 kg ha-1 gave seed yields of 1.628, 2.095 and 2.191 Mg ha-1, respectively. Protein yields were 0.402, 0.543 and 0.573 Mg ha-1 and oil yields were 0.352, 0.498 and 0.505 mg ha-1 for the three respective N rates. Seed, protein and oil yields were 119%, 123% and 127%, respectively, when soil test P was increased to 25 kg ha-1 from 15 kg ha-1 indicating a need to maintain high soil P in mustard production systems.