Efficiency of foliar application of Zn, Fe and Mn in irrigated safflower.

This research was done during three years (2009-2010) for determining the effects of zinc (Zn), iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) foliar application on yield and chemical composition ofirrigated safflower in a field experiment with low concentration ofsoilZn, Fe and Mn (concentrations of 0.52, 3.78 and 4.32 mg.kg-1, respectively).the field was inShirvan-Chardavol experimental station in northern Ilam Experimental treatments were as control (without Zn, Fe and Mn application), foliar application with using water, foliar application of zinc sulfate (with 0.3% concentration), foliar application of iron sulfate (with 0.3% concentration),foliar application of manganese sulfate (with 0.3% concentration), foliar application of Zn & Mn, foliar application of Zn & Fe, foliar application of Fe & Mn, foliar application of Zn, Fe & Mn in complete randomized block design (CRBD) with three replications. foliar application of micronutrients carried out in two stages of late rossetting with rapid growth (Decimal Code: 23) and early flowering (Decimal Code: 62).. Results indicated that foliar application of Zn-Fe-Mn with yield of 1472 kg.ha-1 was in upper statistical group and yield increasecompared tocontrol (without foliar application) and foliar application with water were 12.9 and 12.4 percent, respectively. In case of grain oil percentage, foliar application of Zn-Fe-Mn and Zn-Mn with 421 and414 kg.ha-1 were in higher statistical group and had significant difference compared to control. Effect of foliar application on increasing Zn concentration compared to control was up to 16 mg.kg-1. In overall, the best results for grain yield and oil production was obtained from foliar application of Zn-Fe-Mn and Zn-Mn,. Key words: Foliar application, Zn, Fe, Mn, safflower