EFFECT OF HARVESTING REGIME AND NITROGEN FERTILIZATION ON THE FIELD PEA (Pisum sativum ssp. arvense L.) AGRONOMIC TRAITS

Field pea (Pisum sativum spp. arvense L.) is becoming increasingly common legumes in fodder production due to the high green mass yield, nutritional value and significant content of nitrogen leaving in the soil. The aim of this study was to determine the purpose and effect of nitrogen fertilization as well as the impact of harvesting regime on three field pea important traits (plant height, dry matter green mass yield). The research was conducted during a period of three years on experimental field at the Agricultural Institute Osijek. The experiment was set up in a split block design with three replications where the harvesting deadline (start of blooming and full bloom) was the main factor and seven levels of nitrogen fertilization (0 to 180 kg N ha(-1)) the subfactor. Significant differences at a significance level P<0.01 were observed between two harvesting time for all traits, while the interaction between year and harvesting time was determined for the traits: plant height and dry matter content at the level of P<0.01, and the green mass yield at a significance level of P<0.05. Green mass yield in the first year was the smallest being 17.78 t ha(-1) on the average, while the highest yield (41.34 t ha(-1)) was achieved on the average in the second year of the study. Fertilization level and its interaction had no significant effect on plant height, dry matter and green mass yield.