Nano Zinc Seed Treatment and Foliar Application on Growth, Yield and Economics of Bt Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

Parawilt characterized by a sudden drooping of leaves followed by death of plants withinfew hours after rainfall or heavy irrigation has been the major physiological disorder affectingproductivity of Bt-Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). We studied the effect of foliarapplication of cobalt chloride (@10 mg L-1 water) within 24-36 hours after appearance ofsymptoms on recovery rate, seed cotton yield and economics at farmers’ fields in Mansadistrict of south-western Punjab. The results of front line demonstrations revealed thatfoliar application of cobalt chloride resulted in significantly (p<0.05) higher seed cottonyield by ~9.1 per cent, compared with the control (no-spray). The mean gross returns(MGRs) increased significantly by Rs. 9620/- ha-1 in the demonstration plots. The higherbenefit-cost (B:C) ratio of 2.38 was observed for the demonstration plots, against 2.15 forthe control (no-spray). The foliar application of cobalt chloride resulted in higher averageproduction efficiency of 1.1 kg seed cotton yield ha-1 d-1 and average economic efficiencyof Rs. 65.7 ha-1 d-1, compared with the control. These results therefore, revealed that farmerscan effectively manage parawilt in Bt-cotton using foliar application of cobalt chloride andmay increase seed cotton yield and economic returns.

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Effect of split and foliar application of nitrogen on leaf nitrogen concentration, SPAD index and photosynthesis in Bt. Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

SAARC Journal of Agriculture ◽

10.3329/sja.v14i2.31239 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

MD Giri ◽

MB Dhonde ◽

AD Tumbare

Keyword(s):

Gossypium Hirsutum ◽

Nitrogen Content ◽

Foliar Application ◽

Nitrogen Concentration ◽

Leaf Nitrogen ◽

Bt Cotton ◽

Leaf Nitrogen Content ◽

Dry Matter Accumulation ◽

Gossypium Hirsutum L ◽

Leaf Nitrogen Concentration

A field experiment was carried out at Rahuri (Maharashtra) India in consecutive years of 2011 to 2012 to study the response of split and foliar application of nitrogen on leaf nitrogen concentration, SPAD index and photosynthesis in Bt cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L). Ten treatments comprising nitrogenmanagement practices (application of recommended dose of nitrogen in 3, 4, 5, 6 splits; foliar application of 20 g KNO3 litre-1 water, 20 g urea litre-1 water, combination of split application of nitrogen and foliar spray of 20 g KNO3 litre-1 water, 20 g urea litre-1 water and control) were tested on inceptisol. Results indicated that application of nitrogen in six splits (20% at sowing as basal and remaining in 5 equal splits at 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 DAS) registered significantly higher leaf nitrogen content, SPAD index and rate of photosynthesis except 60 DAS where 4 nitrogen split showed higher leaf nitrogen content and SPAD index. Similarly the same treatment registered significantly higher plant height, dry matter accumulation, number of bolls plant-1 and lint yield.SAARC J. Agri., 14(2): 1-11 (2016)

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