BIOFORTIFICATION OF ZINC IN CHICKPEA (Cicer arietinum L.) VARIETIES THROUGH SEED, SOIL AND FOLIAR APPLICATION 2883
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Date
2019-07
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JAU,JUNAGADH
Abstract
A field experiment was carried out on medium black calcareous soil at Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh, Gujarat during rabi season 2017-18 to evaluate biofortification of zinc in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) varieties through seed, soil and foliar application. The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design with three replications. The treatment combinations comprised two varieties viz., GG 1 (V1) and GJG 3 (V2) and six zinc fortification treatments viz., control, seed treatment ZnSO4 @ 3 g kg-1 seed, 0.5% ZnSO4 foliar spray, seed treatment ZnSO4 @ 3g kg-1 seed + 0.5% ZnSO4 foliar spray, soil application ZnSO4 @ 25 kg ha-1 and soil application ZnSO4 @ 25 kg ha-1 + 0.5% ZnSO4 foliar spray. The chickpea was grown with standard package of practices.
The results revealed that growth parameters viz., plant height, days to 50 % flowering, branches per plant, dry matter production at 60 DAS and at harvest, number of root nodules per plant did not influenced significantly with the different chickpea varieties while chickpea variety GJG 3 recorded significantly higher dry matter production at 30 DAS (2.52 g plant-1). A significant improvement in 100-seed weight, seed yield, straw yield and biological yield were observed with chickpea variety GJG 3 over GG 1. Significantly higher numbers of pods per plant (45.83) was recorded with variety GG 1. Significantly, chickpea variety GJG 3 was found superior in zinc content and uptake in seed and straw fetching higher net returns (₹ 62,508 ha-1) and B: C ratio (2.78).
Under agronomic strategy, zinc fortification through soil application ZnSO4 @ 25 kg ha-1 + 0.5% ZnSO4 foliar spray at flowering and pod filling stages significantly improved all the growth parameters viz., plant height (43.83 cm), branches per plant (8.52), days to 50% flowering (44 days), dry matter production at 30 DAS (2.85 g plant-1), 60 DAS (16.67 g plant-1) and at harvest (33.12 g plant-1), yield attributes and yield viz., pods per plant (55.17), seed yield (2288 kg ha-1) and straw yield (3553 kg ha-1) and quality parameters viz., protein content in seed (22.89%) and protein yield (523 kg ha-1), zinc content and uptake in seed and straw (45.98 and 37.51 ppm and 104.87 and 133.35 g ha-1, respectively) with higher B: C ratio (2.89) and net profitability (₹ 70,322 ha-1) over all other zinc biofortification treatments.
Abstract
It could be concluded that growing of chickpea variety GJG 3 and zinc fortification though soil application of ZnSO4 @ 25 kg ha-1 + 0.5% ZnSO4 foliar spray at flowering and pod filling stages coupled with recommended dose of NPK was found best agronomic strategy for irrigated chickpea seed biofortification on medium black calcareous soils of South Saurashtra Agro-climatic Zone