Role of Zinc and Boron Nutrition on Yield and Quality of Winter Irrigated Hybrid Cotton

Field experiment was conducted during the winter season in sandy clay loam (Ultic Haplustalf) soil with the cotton hybrid at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India to find out the effect of Zinc and boron nutrition on yield and quality of hybrid cotton in a Randomized Block design. Results showed that the shoot, root and total dry matter production at all growth stages were high with the recommended dose of NPK plus ZnSO₄ @ 25 kg ha⁻¹ as soil application plus foliar spray of B @ 0.3 kg ha⁻¹ twice during squaring and early boll formation stages. Application of recommended doseof NPK + Zn along with two foliar sprays of B produced 76 and 36 per cent higher yield over control and recommended NPK treatments respectively. Further B spray along with the recommended dose of NPK application produced 672 and 152 kg higher yield over control and NPK alone applied treatments respectively. Similarly, the combined application of NPK +Zn +B and 25 per cent N through organic + 75 per cent through inorganic sources influence the span length favorably. The combined application of NPK with ZnSO₄ @ 25 kg ha⁻¹ plus foliar spray of B @ 0.3 kg ha⁻¹ twice during squaring and early boll formation stages recorded higher lint index. This study revealed the prospects of enhancing productivity of hybrid cotton by the combined application of NPK along with Zn and B nutrition. Also the combined application of organic and inorganic sources of N in the ratio of 25:75 had favorable influence on yield and lint quality.