AGRONOMIC BIOFORTIFICATION OF ZINC AND IRON IN FIELD PEA (Pisum sativum L.)
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Date
2023
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Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi
Abstract
Field pea is one of the oldest domesticated pulse crops, primarily used for human consumption or
as a livestock feed. The world production of field pea in 2020 was approximately 14.8 million metric tons.
India ranks fifth in global production producing approximately 0.8 million metric tons of field pea.
Jharkhand has 0.6 lakh hectare under field pea cultivation with the production of 0.7 lakh ton and
productivity of 1210 kg/ha (Directorate of Agriculture, 2020-21). Nowadays agronomic biofortification
seeks the attention of researchers because it is a cost-effective and less-time consuming method for
increasing the concentration of micronutrients like zinc and iron which are lacking in the diets of poor rural
populations. Developing countries are particularly vulnerable to zinc deficiency due to their heavy reliance
on plant-based diets, while failure to supply the adequate daily iron requirement over an extended period
may lead to its deficiency, which affects more than 3 billion individuals worldwide.
Keeping these points in view, an experiment entitled “Agronomic Biofortification of Zinc and
Iron in Field Pea (Pisum sativum L.)” was conducted at Birsa Agricultural University Farm, Kanke,
Ranchi during Rabi season of 2021-2022 with an objective to study the effect of different modes of
application of zinc and iron on growth, yield attributes, yield, nutrient content, uptake and economics of
field pea. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design (RBD) replicated thrice with eight
treatments viz. T1:RDF (25:50:25:20 N:P2O5:K2O:S kg/ha) + PSB + Rhizobium) as basal, T2: RDF + 0.5%
ZnSO4 foliar spray at pre-flowering and pod-initiation, T3: RDF + 0.5% FeSO4 foliar spray at preflowering
and pod-initiation, T4: RDF + 0.5% ZnSO4 + 0.5% FeSO4 foliar spray at pre-flowering and podinitiation,
T5: RDF + seed priming with 0.05% ZnSO4 solution w/v soaked for 3-4 hours, T6: RDF + seed
priming with 0.05% FeSO4 solution w/v soaked for 3-4 hours, T7: RDF + soil application of ZnSO4 @ 20
kg/ha, T8 : RDF + soil application of FeSO4 @ 20 kg/ha. Field pea variety Aman (IPF 5-19) was taken as
test crop for the experiment. The soil was sandy loam in texture, acidic pH (5.7), low in orgaic carbon (4.4
g/kg) and nitrogen (249.34 kg/ha), medium in available phosphorus (20.65 kg/ha), potassium (161.32
kg/ha), DTPA extractable zinc (0.8 mg/kg), and high in DTPA extractable iron (21.06 mg/kg).
Results revealed that maximum improvement in growth and yield attributing characters of field
pea like plant height (107.83 cm), plant dry weight (729.87 g/m2), number of nodules/plant (38.20), dry
weight of nodules (95.50 mg/plant), number of pods/plant (9.95), number of seeds/pod (6.01), 100 seed
weight (13.51g) as well as grain yield (1869.70 kg/ha), stover yield (3931.24 kg/ha) and harvest index
(32.25 %) was recorded with the treatment RDF + 0.5% ZnSO4 + 0.5% FeSO4 foliar spray at pre-flowering
and pod-initiation which remained at par with RDF + 0.5% ZnSO4 foliar spray at pre-flowering and podinitiation
and RDF + soil application of ZnSO4 @ 20 kg/ha. The content of nitrogen (3.94, 1.76)% and
potassium (0.91, 1.33)% in grain and stover of field pea respectively was recorded maximum with
application of RDF + foliar spray of 0.5% ZnSO4 at pre-flowering and pod-initiation while, phosphorus
content in grain and stover (0.40, 0.19)% was found maximum with foliar spray of 0.5% FeSO4 along with
RDF. Zinc content (49.81 mg/kg, 44.88 mg/kg) was found maximum in treatment RDF + 0.5% ZnSO4
foliar spray at pre-flowering and pod-initiation while, iron content (94.22 mg/kg, 90.29 mg/kg) was found
maximum with the application of RDF + 0.5% FeSO4 foliar spray at pre-flowering and pod-initiation in
grain and stover respectively. Total uptake of nitrogen (141.64 kg/ha), phosphorus (14.32 kg/ha),
potassium (67.04 kg/ha), zinc (259.11 g/ha) and iron (518.9 g/ha) were found maximum with RDF + 0.5%
ZnSO4 + 0.5% FeSO4 foliar spray at pre-flowering and pod-initiation stage.
It was also observed that gross return (₹ 84424 /ha), net return (₹ 54013 /ha), and B:C ratio (1.78)
recorded maximum with the application of RDF + 0.5% ZnSO4 + 0.5% FeSO4 foliar spray at pre-flowering
and pod-initiation stage. Physico-chemical properties of soil (available N, P, K, Zn and Fe) were not
influenced significantly by the application of different doses of zinc and iron.
Based on one year of experimentation, it may be concluded that application of RDF i.e.
(25:50:25:20 N:P2O5:K2O:S kg/ha) as basal along with foliar spray of 0.5% ZnSO4 and 0.5% FeSO4 at preflowering
and pod-initiation stage would be economically viable option for improving productivity and
nutrient uptake as well as fortifying total content of zinc and iron in grain of field pea.