Studies on Bio-Fortification of Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor L. Moench] with Zinc and Iron in a Vertisol
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Date
2016-07
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University of Agricultural Science, Dharwad
Abstract
A field experiment was conducted at MARS, Dharwad to study the biofortification of sorghum with zinc and iron in a Vertisol during kharif 2015. The experiment consists of ten treatments with three replications laid out in RCBD. Soil application of ferrous sulphate @ 25 kg ha-1 along with foliar application of zinc and ferrous sulphate each @1.0 per cent recorded the highest total dry matter accumulation (227.26 g plant-1) at harvest. The highest grain (41.40 q ha-1) and stover yields (68.31 q ha-1) were recorded with the application of ferrous sulphste @ 25 kg ha-1 + foliar spray of zinc sulphate + ferrous sulphate each @ 1.0 per cent. The lowest grain (32.75 q ha-1) and stover yields (56.01 q ha-1) were observed in control (100:75:25 kg N, P2O5, K2O kg ha-1 respectively + ZnSO4.7H2O 15 kg ha-1 + FYM 4 tons ha-1).
The highest zinc (79.81 mg kg-1) and iron (96.91 mg kg-1) concentrations in sorghum grain were recorded in soil application of ferrous sulphate @ 25 kg ha-1 along with foliar application of zinc and ferrous sulphate each @ 1.0 per cent while the lowest zinc (66.77 mg kg-1) and iron (81.99 mg kg-1) contents were recorded in control. Iron and zinc contents in sorghum grains were increased by 18 and 19 per cent respectively over control due to zinc and ferrous sulphate application. The highest uptake of zinc (1,000.76 g ha-1) and iron (1,122.55 g ha-1) were recorded in the treatment which received soil application of ferrous sulphate @ 25 kg ha-1 along with foliar application of zinc and ferrous sulphate. Highest B:C ratio (3.76) was recorded in the same treatment while lowest value (3.08) in control.