Differential adaptability of barley varieties to iron, manganese and zinc application

The barley varieties reacted differently to Fe, Mn and Zn nutrition in a pot experiment on an eroded soil of the Experimental Block ‘B’ of the C.S. Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur. RDB-1 was marked to be Fe-efficient, while Jyoti appeared to be Mn-efficient variety of barley. Zinc at higher level reduced Fe and Mn uptake, but it appeared to have interfered more with the absorption and translocation of Fe than Mn. Chlorophyll content and catalase activity of the leaves as well as total assimilatory surface and grain yield were positively and very strongly associated. Relatively larger assimilatory surface coupled with higher photosynthetic rate in RDB-1 and enhanced catalase activity leading to increased respiratory rate in Jyoti were observed to be the possible causes for better yields recorded in former than Jyoti. The results suggest that RDB-1 may be more adaptive under Fe-stress while Jyoti might do better under Mn-deficiency.