Zinc biofortification of dual-purpose cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] for enhancing the productivity and nutritional quality in a semi-arid regions of India
2022
Kumar, Balwinder | Dhaliwal, Salwinder Singh
Zinc deficient soils cause low crop production leading to malnutrition in humans and livestock. Two years field experiments were conducted on cowpea crop with six ZnSO₄·H₂O (33%) treatments viz. no Zn, soil application of 16 kg ZnSO₄·H₂O ha⁻¹ (SZₙ), one foliar spray of 0.3% ZnSO₄·H₂O at early bloom (EB) stage (F₁Zₙ), two foliar sprays of 0.3% ZnSO₄·H₂O at EB and full bloom (FB) stages (F₂Zₙ) and combination of soil application + foliar sprays of ZnSO₄.H₂O (SZₙ+F₁Zₙ and SZₙ+F₂Zₙ) were tested. The results showed that soil application of 16 kg ha⁻¹ of ZnSO₄·H₂O followed by two foliar sprays of 0.3% ZnSO₄·H₂O at EB (R1) and FB (R2) stages recorded maximum increase in grain yield (43.7%) and grain Zn content (22.7%) over control. However, in straw, a three-fold increase in Zn content was recorded. Foliar applications of 0.3% ZnSO₄·H₂O at EB and EB+FB stages recorded a significant increase in grain (8.2% and 11.4%) and straw Zn content (63.0% and 104.0%) over control. In conclusion, combination of soil (SZₙ) + foliar (F₂Zₙ) Zn application method was most remunerative with maximum production and monetary efficiencies (15 kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹ and $7.5 ha⁻¹ day⁻¹) and is an effective approach for grain and straw Zn biofortification in cowpea.
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