Effect of Foliar Application of Zinc on Growth and Yield of Wheat (Triticum aestivum)

Aims: The study was aimed to observe “Effect of foliar application of Zinc on growth and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum)”. Study Design: The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD). Place and Duration of Study: The field experiment was conducted at the research fields of School of Agriculture, Department of Agronomy, Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar (Punjab) during rabi season in the year 2021-2022. Methodology: The experiment was conducted with eight treatments and three replicationswere T1- Absolute Control, T2- RDF (Chemical Control) 120:60:40 NPK, T3- RDF 120:60:40 NPK + Zinc (Spray @ 15 DAYS 0.5% ), T4- 75% RDF + Zinc (Spray @ 15 DAYS 0.5% ), T5- RDF 120:60:40 NPK + Zinc (Spray @ 15 DAYS 0.5% + 30 DAYS 0.5% ), T6- 75% RDF + Zinc (Spray @ 15 DAYS 0.5% + 30 DAYS 0.5% ), T7- RDF 120:60:40 NPK + Zinc ( Spray @ 15 DAYS 0.5% + 30 DAYS 0.5% + 60 DAYS 0.5%), T8- 75% RDF + Zinc (Spray @ 15 DAYS 0.5% + 30 DAYS 0.5% + 60 DAYS 0.5%). Results: The results showed that the foliar application of Zinc at different stages, along with recommended dose of fertilizer had a positive effect on plant height, number of leaves per plant, Chlorophyll by SPAD value and grain yield of crop. It was reported that at harvest, the highest values of growth parameters like plant height (cm) were recorded in T7 (97.07cm), number of leaves per plant was in T7 (11.03), Chlorophyll by SPAD value was in T5 (37.37) and grain yield was in T7 (61.70 q/ha) which were significantly higher over control treatments where we did not applied Zinc. Conclusion: It can be concluded that along with RDF, foliar application of Zinc has positive effects on growth and development of plant as well as helps in increasing the yield of the crop as compared to the no foliar application Zinc. Along with this, it has also been found that foliar application of Zinc should be done in splits ie. at15 days intervals at crucial stages of crop which helps in maximum absorption of nutrients that ultimately affects the yield of the crop . Since the Zinc fertilizers like Zinc sulfate is a cheap and easily available fertilizer, it could find wider acceptability among farmers.