Department of Botany, Osmania University, Hyderabad-500007
Sand culture experiments were conducted to study the effect of zinc at five concentrations on growth, nodulation and on certain metabolites in two varieties of Cicer arietinum, L-550 and G-130. Nodulation, leghaemoglobin, total nitrogen, soluble nitrogen, protein nitrogen and RNA levels were determined at three growth periods viz., pre-flowering, flowering and post-flowering stages. In both the varieties of chickpea, the yield and metabolite levels were reduced at 0 and 1.1 ppm zinc concentrations, as compared to the plants supplied with 0.011, 0.11 and 0.22 ppm zinc levels. The L-550 variety withstood deficient and toxic levels of zinc as compared to G-130 variety.
