Effect of Ti treatments on growth, photosynthesis, phosphorus uptake and yield of soybean (Glycine max L.) in maize-soybean relay strip intercropping

Abstract Shade is the main growth and yield limiting factor for soybean seedlings in maize-soybean relay intercropping. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of titanium (Ti)foliar application on soybean under a maize-soybean relay strip intercropping system. In this study, the soybean plants were sprayed with Ti treatments (T0S = 0, T1S = 125, T2S = 250, T3S = 500 and T4S = 1000 mg L-1) under maize-soybean relay stripintercropping. The results have indicated that under intercropping environment, Ti application significantly affected the growth of the plants. The soybean plants supplied with Ti treatment (T1S) significantly improved soybean diameter and stem strength at both V5 and R5 stages. Ti application resulted in a significant increase in SPAD values in T1S (i.e. 31.69% and 21.21%) and T2S (i.e. 21.55% and 22.19%) in comparison to control at both V5 and R5 stage, respectively. Furthermore, foliar application of Ti (T1S) significantly increased photosynthetic rate by 33.15% and 22.80% at both V5 and R5 stages. The stomatal conductance (Gs) increased significantly in T1S (44.39%) and T2S (31.30%) at the V5 stage and in T1S (29.85%) at the R5 stage, respectively in comparison to control leading to increase root and shoot biomass in both V5 and R5 stages except for treatment T4S. Analysis of stem anatomical structure, stem strength (lodging resistance), and phosphorus content revealed that foliar application of Ti not only improved the shade tolerance but also increased yield (16-17%)of soybean under maize-soybean relay strip intercropping. Conclusively, foliar application of Ti could be helpful in mitigating the shade stress and increasing soybean yield under the intercropping system.