Fortification of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) with Zinc and Manganese

The field experiment on fortification of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) with zinc and manganese was conducted during the Rabi season of 2018 at Students’ Research Farm, Department of Agriculture, Amritsar. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with twelve treatments with four replications viz., T1: Control; T2: ZnSO4 @ 30 kg/ha in wheat at sowing time; T3: ZnSO4 @ 60 kg/ha in wheat at sowing time; T4: ZnSO4 @ 90 kg/ha in wheat at sowing time; T5: MnSO4 @ 0.5% solution spray 2–4 days*; T6: MnSO4 @ 1.0% solution spray 2–4 days*; T7: ZnSO4 @ 30 kg/ha in wheat at sowing + MnSO4 @ 0.5% solution spray 2–4 days*; T8: ZnSO4 @ 60 kg/ha in wheat at sowing + MnSO4 @ 1.0% solution spray 2–4 days*, T9: ZnSO4 @ 90 kg/ha in wheat at sowing + MnSO4 @ 0.5% solution spray 2–4 days*, T10: ZnSO4 @ 30 kg/ha in wheat at sowing + MnSO4 @ 1.0% solution spray 2–4 days*, T11: ZnSO4 @ 60 kg/ha in wheat at sowing + MnSO4 @ 0.5% solution spray 2–4 days*, T12: ZnSO4 @ 90 kg/ha in wheat at sowing + MnSO4 @ 1.0% solution spray 2–4 days. The soil of experimental site was sandy loam in texture, medium in organic carbon (0.40%) with 194.62, 19.75 and 248.68 kg/ha of available N, P and K, respectively along with 0.60 and 3.81 ppm of available Zn and Mn, respectively. Results revealed that T12 recorded significantly highest growth parameters and yield attributing characteristics as compared to other treatments except T11 and T4 which were at par with T12. The soil parameters such as pH (7.41), CaCO3 (2.85%), available P (16.37 kg/ha) decreased in T12 whereas values of EC (0.34 dS/m), OC (0.44%) increased in the same treatment after harvesting of the crop. The highest grain and straw uptake of Zn (155.57 and 153.38 g/ha) and Mn (89.36 and 80.47 g/ha) were observed significantly higher in T12 than other treatments except T11, T4 for Zn and T11, T6 for Mn, respectively.