Effect of Foliar Application of Micronutrients on Growth and Yield of Marigold (Tagetes erecta L.)

The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of foliar application of micronutrients on growth and yield of marigold cv. Yellow Benz Tall during the year 2022-23 at the experimental farm of Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu to find out effect of various levels of micronutrients on marigold. The experiment included nine combinations of Fe and Zn micronutrient treatments with three replications, designed in Randomized Block Design. The treatments were viz., T₁ [Control (75% N + 100% P + 75% K + Nano N and Nano K)], T₂ [T₁ + 0.5% ZnSO₄], T₃ [T₁ + 0.5% FeSO₄], T₄ [T₁ + 0.5% ZnSO₄ + 0.5% FeSO₄], T₅ [T₁ + 0.25% Chelated Fe], T₆ [T₁ + 0.25% Chelated Fe + 0.5% ZnSO₄], T₇ [T₁ + Nano Zn], T₈ [T₁ + 0.5% FeSO₄ + Nano Zn], T₉ [T₁ + 0.25% Chelated Fe + Nano Zn]. The results revealed that crop responded significantly to micronutrient application like plant height (72.24 cm), number of primary branches (16.09), number of secondary branches (60.36), number of nodes (30.68), internodal length (6.87 cm), stem girth (4.56 cm) and plant spread (63.17 cm²) and flowering parameters like days taken for flowering (27.20) shown earliness, duration of flowering (99.48 days), number of flowers per plant (56.39), single flower weight (14.03 g), flower diameter (10.05 cm) and yield parameter like yield per plant (593.36 g) with T₉ (T₁ + 0.25% Chelated Fe + Nano Zn). Foliar application of Fe and Zn improved growth and photosynthetic characteristics in marigold. It promotes nutrient availability and plant uptake, increase crop growth, yield and physiological characters, reduce dependence on costly chemical fertilizer inputs and minimize environmental risks. It is concluded that foliar application of micronutrients in combination of Fe and Zn enhanced growth, flowering and yield parameters.