Impact of Different Zinc Application Methods on Yield and Yield Components of Various Wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i> L.) Cultivars

Abstract

To evaluate the impact of different zinc application methods on yield and yield components of various wheat cultivars, a field experiment was carried out at Student’s Farm, Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, during winter 2014-2015. The experiment was laid out in RCBD (Randomized Complete Block Design) with factorial arrangement. In this experiment, all the treatments were replicated three times, using the net plot size of 1.8 m × 5.0 m. The experiment comprised of two factors. Factor A consists of two varieties: Faisalabad-2008 and Punjab-2011. While, Factor B consists of different methods of zinc application, control, zinc application in soil before planting 23 kg·ha -1 , zinc foliar application, 4% ZnSO 4 solution at two stages (tillering and stem elongation stage). The data regarding different parameters were collected and analyzed from the crop using standard procedures. Regarding the impact of zinc application method maximum plant height at maturity (103.6 cm), total number of tillers (564.67 m -2 ), spike length (10.83 cm), number of spikelets spike -1 (19.50), number of grains spike -1 (50.36), 1000-grain weight (34.16 g), biological yield (11.93 t·ha -1 ), grain yield (6.00 t·ha -1 ) and harvest index (39.25%) were recorded in treatment where zinc was applied both in the soil before planting and by foliar application on later growth stages. Similarly, grain zinc contents (33.11 mg&middot;kg -1 ), grain protein contents (10.1%) and grain carbohydrate contents (64.23%) were also observed in the treatment where zinc was applied both in the soil before planting and by foliar application on later growth stages, which is better than all other treatments. In case of wheat varieties, Faisalabad-2008 performed better than Punjab-2011, with maximum method maximum total number of tillers (460.67 m -2 ), spike length (9.70 cm), number of grains spike -1 (48.80), 1000-grain weight (33.81 g), biological yield (10.32 t·ha -1 ), grain yield (5.0 t·ha -1 ) and harvest index (33.93%). It is concluded that sowing of wheat cultivar Faisalabad-2008 + application of zinc in soil before planting with foliar application at later stages (tillering and stem elongation stage) of wheat could give better results in terms of yield.