Effect of soil and foliar application multimicronutrient mixture of growth, yield and nutrient content of drilled paddy

Introduction

Rice is the staple food of the tribal people of middle Gujarat. In Gujarat unirrigated rice is an cultivated area of 1.57 lakh hectares and production of 3.10 lakh tones with productivity of 1980 kg/ha (Annon., 2023) [3] . In Gujarat, Panchmahals district un irrigated rice is an cultivated area of 0.17 lakh hectares and production of 0.23 lakh tones with productivity of 1336 kg/ha (Annon.2023) [3] . In Gujarat, Iron nutrient is critical for chlorophyll formation, photosynthesis, plant enzyme activation and oxygen carrier in nitrogen fixation (Ali, 2012) [1] . About 40% of the soils of India are deficient in available Zn, especially in states like Gujarat, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh (Kumar et al. 2019) [11] . Though Gujarat has considerable area of upland rice its production is very low. Singh et al. (2005) [15] reported lower yield in DSR than TPR principally due to poor crop stand, high percentage of panicle sterility, higher weed and root-knot nematode infestation. In direct seeding, availability of several nutrients including N, P, S and micronutrients such as Zn and Fe, is likely to be a constraint (Ponnamperuma, 1972) [14] . None of the less, farmers are inclining to adopt DSR and the area under DSR is increasing as it is more productive and profitable to compensate the production costs. In view of this, field trial was carried out on integrated nutrient management of major nutrients viz., N, P and K with along with soil application of Fe or/and Zn or foliar application of Fe or/ and Zn to evaluate the performance of various nutrient. It has been reported that application of Zn at different rates and frequencies influenced the productivity of maize -wheat cropping system in typichaplustepts soil of Gujarat, India (Kumar et al., 2022) [12] . Therefore essential to provide an effective multi micronutrient management for drilled paddy. Keeping above in view a field experiment was conducted to find out the "effect of soil and foliar application of multimicronutrient mixture on growth, yield and nutrient content of drilled paddy".

Materials and Methods

The Field experiment was carried out to study the "effect of soil and foliar application of multimicronutrient mixture on growth, yield and nutrient content of drilled paddy". The experiment was conducted at Agriculture Research Station, Anand Agricultural University, Derol, Dist: Panchmahals, Gujarat, India during kharif seasons of 2021, 2022 and 2023. The plot size was 3.6 x 5.0 m. The treatment details are given in table a. The soil of the experimental field was sandy loam in texture having low in organic carbon and nitrogen, higher in available phosphorus and medium in potassium Initial physic-chemical properties of soil status was analysed and given in table b. Different grade of micronutrient mixture used in experiment are given in table-c. Soil test value application Fe@15 kg/ha for basal. The drilled paddy variety AAUDR 1 was used in the experiment as a test crop. All the recommended agronomic practices were followed for raising the crop during all the years of experimentation. The observations on growth and yield attributes was recorded. Soil analysis at initial and after harvest of crop was done to assess the nutrient content, leaf analysis after one week of third foliar spray, grain and straw analysis at harvest and analyze the active iron content from the plant at 30 DAS. Data was analyzed statistically using Fisher's analysis of variance technique and treatment means were compared using least significant difference test at 5% level of probability.

Results and Discussion

The pooled results of three years of experimental findings on the effect of soil and foliar application of a multi-micronutrient mixture on the growth, yield and nutrient content of drilled paddy have been discussed under following heads.

Effect on growth and yield attributes

Application of treatment T 12 (RDF + 1.0% FeSO 4 foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) resulted significantly higher plant height at 40 DAS. Treatments T 4 (RDF + MM Grade II @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) and T 11 (RDF + 0.5% FeSO 4 foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) were statistically at par with treatment T 12 . Similar result was observed by Anitha and Kadalli (2019) [4] that application of soil micronutrient mixture and foliar micronutrient mixture gave higher plant height in maize. [8] , the enhancement of growth parameters through micronutrient application is likely linked to stimulated photosynthetic and metabolic processes. These intensified activities increase the production of essential plant metabolites, which are fundamental to the mechanisms of cell division and elongation. Treatment T 4 (RDF + MM Grade II @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) recorded the highest grain and straw yields (2016 and 3584 kg/ha, respectively) and was statistically at par with Treatments T 11 (RDF + 0.5% FeSO 4 foliar spray) and T 12 (RDF + 1.0% FeSO 4 foliar spray), both applied at 20, 40 and 60 DAS. Chandrakumar et al. (2004) [5] , Singh and Ram (2005) [16] and Esfahani et al. (2014) [7] were noted that applying Iron (Fe) and Zinc (Zn) boosts wheat and rice yields across diverse agro-climatic environments. Patel and Singh (2010) [13] were also observed that the advantages of multi-micronutrient application on the synergistic effect of balanced nutrition, which improved crop growth and increases productivity.

Effect on soil nutrient status

Soil and foliar application of multimicronutrient mixture grade did not significantly affect the soil chemical properties such as pH, EC, organic carbon, soil available P 2 O 5 , K 2 O and Sulphur. Treatment T 7 (RDF + MM Grade V @ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade I @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) recorded significantly higher available iron content and was statistically at par with T 10 (RDF + MM Grade V @ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade IV @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS), T 8 (RDF + MM Grade V @ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade II @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) and T 11 (RDF + 0.5% FeSO 4 foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS). Treatment T 10 (RDF + MM Grade V @ 20 kg/ha along with MM Grade IV @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) resulted in the highest manganese availability, which was statistically comparable to T 11 (RDF + 0.5% FeSO 4 foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) and T 9 (RDF + MM Grade V @ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade III @ 1.0% foliar spray at the same intervals). Application of treatment T 11 (RDF+0.5% FeSO 4 foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) resulted in higher available zinc content in the soil after the harvest of rice and was statistically at par with T 10 (RDF + MM Grade V @ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade IV @ 1.0% foliar spray), T 9 (RDF + MM Grade V @ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade III @ 1.0% foliar spray), T 8 (RDF + MM Grade V @ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade II @ 1.0% foliar spray) and T 7 (RDF + MM Grade V @ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade I @ 1.0% foliar spray), all applied at 20, 40 and 60 DAS. Application of treatment T 10 (RDF + MM Grade V @ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade IV @ 1.0% foliar spray) resulted in higher available copper content in the soil and was statistically comparable with T 11 (RDF + 0.5% FeSO 4 foliar spray), T 9 (RDF + MM Grade V @ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade III @ 1.0% foliar spray) and T 8 (RDF + MM Grade V @ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade II @ 1.0% foliar spray), all applied at 20, 40 and 60 DAS.

Effect on nutrient content in leaf

Soil and foliar application of multi-micronutrient mixture grades significantly affected the leaf nutrient content one week after the third foliar spray. Treatment T 5 (RDF + MM Grade III @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) recorded significantly higher iron content and was statistically at par with T 6 (RDF + MM Grade IV @ 1.0% foliar spray), T 12 (RDF + 1.0% FeSO 4 foliar spray), T 9 (RDF + MM Grade V @ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade III @ 1.0% foliar spray), T 11 (RDF + 0.5% FeSO 4 foliar spray), T 8

(RDF + MM Grade V @ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade II @ 1.0% foliar spray), T 4 (RDF + MM Grade II @ 1.0% foliar spray) and T 13 (RDF + micronutrients as per STV), all applied at 20, 40 and 60 DAS. Zinc content in the leaf was significantly higher in Treatment T 4 (RDF + MM Grade II @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) and was statistically at par with Treatments T 5 (RDF + MM Grade III @ 1.0% foliar spray), T 6 (RDF + MM Grade IV @ 1.0% foliar spray), T 7 (RDF + MM Grade V @ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade I @ 1.0% foliar spray), T 8 (RDF + MM Grade V @ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade II @ 1.0% foliar spray), T 9 (RDF + MM Grade V @ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade III @ 1.0% foliar spray) and T 10 (RDF + MM Grade V @ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade IV @ 1.0% foliar spray), all applied at 20, 40 and 60 DAS. Manganese and copper contents in the leaf were not significantly affected by different treatments in the pooled results.

Effect on nutrient content in grain and straw

Soil and foliar application of multimicronutrient mixture grades significantly affected the nutrient content of grain and straw. Treatment T 12 (RDF + 1.0% FeSO 4 foliar spray at 20, 40, and 60 DAS) recorded the highest sulphur content and was statistically at par with treatments T 3 (RDF+ MM grade I @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS), T 11 (RDF + 0.5% FeSO4 foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS), T 6 (RDF+ MM grade IV @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS), T 5 (RDF+ MM Grade III @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS), T 8 (RDF + MM Grade V@ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade II @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS), T 9 (RDF + MM Grade V@ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade III @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS), T 10 (RDF + MM Grade V@ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade IV @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS), T 4 (RDF + MM Grade II @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) , T 7 (RDF + MM Grade V@ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade I @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) , T 13 (RDF + Micronutrient as per STV) and T 2 (RDF + MM Grade V@ 20 kg/ha), T 3 (RDF+ MM Grade I @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS). Application of treatment T 13 (RDF + micronutrients as per STV) recorded the highest iron content in the grain which was statistically at par with treatment T 12 (RDF + 1.0% FeSO 4 foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) and T 9 (RDF + MM Grade V@ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade III @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS). For zinc content in grain, treatment T 4 (RDF + MM Grade II @ 1.0% foliar spray) recorded significantly higher values and was statistically on par with T 8 (RDF + MM Grade V@ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade II @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS). Sulphur content in the straw was significantly highest in Treatment T 11 (RDF + 0.5% FeSO4 foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) and it was statistically similar to T 12 (RDF + 1.0% FeSO 4 foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS), T 4 , T 5 (RDF+ MM Grade III @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS), T 10 (RDF + MM Grade V@ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade IV @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS), T 13 (RDF + Micronutrient as per STV) , T 2 (RDF + MM Grade V@ 20 kg/ha, T 3 (RDF+ MM Grade I @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS, T 2 (RDF + MM Grade V@ 20 kg/ha, T 3 (RDF+ MM Grade I @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS), T 3 (RDF+ MM grade I @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS), T 7 (RDF + MM Grade V@ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade I @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) and T 6 (RDF+ MM grade IV @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS). Iron content in straw, T 5 (RDF + MM Grade III @ 1.0% foliar spray) recorded the highest values and was statistically similar with treatments T 6 (RDF+ MM grade IV @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS), T 8 (RDF + MM Grade V@ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade II @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) , T 9 (RDF + MM Grade V@ 20 kg/ha + MM Grade III @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) , T 11 (RDF + 0.5% FeSO 4 foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) , T 12 (RDF + 1.0% FeSO 4 foliar spray at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) , T 2 (RDF + MM Grade V@ 20 kg/ha) and T 1 (RDF (50:25:00 NPK kg/ha). For zinc content in straw, T 4 (RDF + MM Grade II @ 1.0% foliar spray) showed significantly higher content and was statistically at par with all other treatments except T 13 (RDF + Micronutrient as per STV). In contrast, manganese and copper contents in both grain and straw were not significantly affected by any of the treatments in the pooled results. [6] on peach cultivar and they observed that leaf mineral status (active iron/Fe 2+ ) was improved with the application of different iron sources, application of Fe sulphate found to be the best iron source for foliar application. This might be attributed to more penetration capacity of this iron source across the leaf epidermis possibly due to lesser molecular weight than other two iron sources (Fe-EDTA and Fe-citrate).

Effect on active iron content in plant at

Economics

The [4] that application of soil micronutrient mixture with foliar micronutrient mixture gave highest gross return and Net return.

Conclusion

The treatments T 11 (RDF + 0.5% FeSO 4 foliar spray at 20, 40, and 60 DAS) and T 4 (RDF + MM Grade II @ 1.0% foliar spray at 20, 40, and 60 DAS) recorded the highest net return and benefit-cost ratio (BCR) compared to the other treatments. Under the Middle Gujarat Agro-Climatic Zone, for growing drilled paddy, it is recommended to apply either a 1.0% foliar spray (100 g per 10 litres of water) of the Government-notified multi-micronutrient mixture Grade II (Fe: 6.0%, Mn: 1.0, Zn: 4.0, Cu: 0.3 and B: 0.5%) or a 0.5% foliar spray of FeSO 4 (50 g per 10 litres of water), neutralized with 0.25% lime solution, at 20, 40 and 60 days after sowing. This should be accompanied by the application of 50 kg N/ha, comprising 25 kg N/ha and 25 kg P 2 O 5 /ha as a basal dose, followed by 25 kg N/ha as top dressing at 30 DAS.

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