Guriqbal SinghAmandeep Kaur2023-12-112023-12-112023Amandeep Kaur (2023). Agronomic biofortification of lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) with zinc and iron (Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation). Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.https://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810202459The study entitled “Agronomic biofortification of lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) with zinc and iron” was carried out at the research farm of Pulses Section, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana and PAU Regional Research Station, Faridkot, during two seasons i.e. Rabi 2018-19 and 2019-20 in randomized complete block design (RCBD). At Ludhiana, soil of the experimental field was loamy sand in texture, neutral in pH, low in electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC) and available nitrogen (N), medium in available phosphorus (P), potassium (K), zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) and at Faridkot, soil was sandy loam in texture, neutral in pH, high in EC, medium in OC, low in available N, medium in available P, Zn, Fe and high in available K. The studies comprised of three field experiments at two locations. Experiment I comprised of eleven treatments [control, soil Zn (25 kg ha-1 ZnSO4), foliar application of Zn (0.5% ZnSO4), urea (2%) and combined Zn + urea at flowering, pod formation and flowering + pod formation stages], Experiment II consisted of ten treatments [control, foliar application of Fe (0.5% FeSO4) or urea (2%) and Fe + urea at flowering, pod formation and flowering + pod formation stages] and Experiment III comprised of ten treatments [control, foliar application of urea (2%), Zn (0.5% ZnSO4) + Fe (0.5% FeSO4) and Zn + Fe + urea at flowering, pod formation and flowering + pod formation stages]. The results revealed that in Experiment I, foliar application of 0.5% ZnSO4 + 2% urea at flowering + pod formation stages resulted in significantly higher growth attributes, symbiotic parameters, yield attributes and yield, economic returns, Zn concentration in whole grain (53.65 mg kg-1) and split grain (31.46 mg kg-1) and protein content over control in both the years of study at both the locations. In Experiment II, the foliar application of 0.5% FeSO4 + 2% urea at flowering + pod formation stages resulted in significantly higher growth attributes, symbiotic parameters, yield attributes and yield, economics, nutrient concentration, Fe concentration in whole grain (91.98 mg kg-1) and split grain (51.63 mg kg-1) and protein content over control. In Experiment III, the combined foliar application of 0.5% ZnSO4 + 0.5% FeSO4 + 2% urea at flowering + pod formation stages resulted in significantly higher growth attributes, symbiotic parameters, yield attributes and yield, economic returns, Zn and Fe concentration in whole grain (61.97 mg Zn kg-1 and 95.84 mg Fe kg-1) and split grain (37.75 mg Zn kg-1 and 51.15 mg Fe kg-1) and protein content over control. The treatment of Zn + urea, Fe + urea and Zn + Fe + urea at flowering + pod formation stages in Experiment I, II and III, respectively, was the best treatment. It can be concluded that the combined application of Zn + Fe + urea at flowering + pod formation stages gave higher grain yield, economic returns and enrichment of grains, therefore, it can help in alleviating micronutrient malnutrition in humans as well as provide more income to farmers.EnglishThesis