Abstract
The article presents the results of studies investigating the effects of pre-sowing seed treatment and foliar fertilization on leaf area development, biomass accumulation, and grain yield formation in spring soft wheat under the environmental conditions of Akmola Region. The research object was spring soft wheat subjected to various combinations of polymer-based micronutrient fertilizers and seed treatment preparations, followed by foliar applications during the main stages of crop vegetation. The studies evaluated the effects of the preparations “Vitanoll Micro,” “Vitanoll NP,” “Megamix,” “Micropolydoc Plus,” and other agrochemical products on plant growth and development, leaf surface area formation, dry matter accumulation, and yield structure components. The results demonstrated that the application of polymer-based micronutrient fertilizers promoted the activation of physiological and biochemical processes, enhanced the photosynthetic activity of plants, and increased crop resistance to adverse environmental conditions. The highest efficiency was recorded under the integrated application of “Citadel, CS” (1.2 L/t), “Vitanoll Micro” (0.1 L/t), and foliar treatment with “Vitanoll NP” (0.5 L/t). Under this treatment regime, the leaf surface area at the heading stage reached 14.3 thousand cm², exceeding the control treatment by 25.4%. More intensive dry matter accumulation, an increase in the number of productive stems, and improved yield structure parameters were also observed. The maximum grain yield reached 29.3 c/ha, which was 26.3% higher than that of the control. The obtained results confirm the high efficiency of the integrated use of pre-sowing seed treatment and foliar fertilization with polymer-based micronutrient fertilizers for increasing the productivity of spring soft wheat under the steppe conditions of Northern Kazakhstan.