Response of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to foliar application of iron and zinc at different growth stages in middle Gangetic plains of Bihar

Abstract

Field experiment was conducted at research farm of ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Regional Station, Pusa, Samastipur (Bihar) during rabi season of 2014-15 and 2015-16 to determine the foliar feeding of iron and zinc at different growth stages on growth, yield and economics of wheat. The treatments consist of 0.5% spray of Zinc Sulphate and 1% spray of Ferrous Sulphate at four different growth stages i.e. 40, 50, 60 and 70 days after sowing (DAS) including one control. The results revealed that four sprays of FeSO₄ 1.0% at 40, 50, 60 and 70 DAS and three spray of ZnSO₄ 0.5% at 50, 60 and 70 DAS recorded significantly higher plant height (93.3 and 89.7 cm) at maturity, dry matter (13.09 and 12.13 t/ha), effective tillers/m² (504.2 and 482.8), grains/spike (48.2 and 43.2), 1,000-grain weight (41.6.0 and 39.5 g), grain yield (4.86 and 4.35 t/ha) and straw yield (8.23 and 7.78 t/ha) and gave higher net returns (81.85 × 10³ `/ha and 72.08 × 10<sup>3</sup> `/ha) and benefit: cost ratio (1.76 and 1.59), respectively over the control. Therefore, foliar feeding of micronutrients could be an effective approach to enhance wheat yield and to enrich wheat grains with micronutrients for correcting malnutrition.