Agronomic Biofortification of Zinc and Iron Micronutrients in Maize
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Date
2016-07
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University of Agricultural Science, Dharwad
Abstract
A field experiment on agronomic biofortification of zinc and iron micronutrients in maize was carried out during kharif season of 2015 at Agricultural Research Station, Bailhongal. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design (factorial concept) with three replications. It consisted of 16 treatment combinations involving seed treatment, soil application and foliar spray of Zn and Fe.
Soil application of FYM enriched with ZnSO4 and FeSO4 each @ 25 kg ha-1 recorded higher grain yield (76.2 q ha-1), stover yield (106.0 q ha-1), cob length (19.8 cm), cob weight (271.4 g), grain weight per cob (189.3 g), number of grains per cob (673.5), test weight (31.6 g), leaf area (73.4 dm2 plant-1), dry matter production (253.8 g plant-1), higher Zn (47.0 mg kg-1) and Fe (75.2 mg kg-1) density in maize grain. It also recorded higher gross return (` 1,05,446 ha-1 ), net returns (` 70,367 ha-1) and B-C ratio (3.01). However, it was on par with the soil application of FYM enriched with ZnSO4 and FeSO4 each @ 15 kg ha-1 with respect maize growth, yield and economics. Similarly, foliar spray of Zn and Fe each @ 0.5 per cent at 45 DAS recorded higher grain yield (72.8 q ha-1), stover yield (102.9 q ha-1), Zn and Fe content in maize grain (44.8 and 70.9 mg kg-1 respectively), net returns (` 66,102 ha-1) and B-C ratio (2.9) compared to control. Among the different treatment combinations, treatment involving seed treatment, soil application of FYM enriched ZnSO4 and FeSO4 each @ either 25 or 15 kg ha-1 and foliar spray recorded higher grain yield (T2S3F2:78.5 q ha-1 and T2S4F2:79.0 q ha-1), stover yield (T2S3F2:106.9 q ha-1 and T2S4F2 106.6 q ha-1), Zn and Fe content in grain (48.5, 48.4 and 75.8, 75.7 mg kg-1 in T2S3F2 and T2S4F2 respectively) and their uptake. Further, they recorded significantly higher gross returns, net returns and B-C ratio.