Effects of foliar application of micronutrients on concentration and bioavailability of zinc and iron in wheat landraces and cultivars

Foliar application of micronutrient is a rapid and promising strategy to enhance the concentration and bioavailability of micronutrients in wheat grain. To explore the effects of foliar application of micronutrients on the concentration and bioavailability of zinc and iron in grain in wheat cultivars and landraces, field experiments were carried out using 65 wheat cultivars and 28 landraces to assess the effects of foliar application of zinc (iron) on phytic acid concentrations, zinc (iron) concentrations and their molar ratios. The results indicated that mean grain zinc concentration of landraces (44.83 mg kg−1) was 11.13% greater than that of cultivars (40.34 mg kg−1) on average across seasons, while grain iron concentration did not differ significantly between landraces (41.00 mg kg−1) and cultivars (39.43 mg kg−1). Foliar zinc application significantly improved the concentration and bioavailability of zinc in grains in both cultivars and landraces, while landraces had almost two-fold more increase in grain zinc and also greater improvement in zinc bioavailability compared to cultivars. While foliar iron application did not significantly affect iron concentration and bioavailability in grains in either cultivars or landraces. Our study showed that, with foliar application of zinc but not iron, wheat landraces had better performance than cultivars in terms of the increases in both concentration and bioavailability of micronutrient in grains.

Zinc Effects Yield of Mustard (Brassica campestris L.) Under Zero Tillage

Zero or no tillage (ZT) mustard (Brassica campestris L.) cultivation is being increased and popularized these days in Bangladesh. But micronutrient management specially Zinc (Zn) with recommended dose of NPKSB fertilizers are poorly practiced in this type of cultivation. Micro nutrient deficiency is an emerging problem due continuous usage of soil resources (ground water, intensive cultivation etc.). Thus, to sustain and adopt the potential yield of modern mustard varieties all types fertilization is must. Basing on this problem an investigation was employed at Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) Sub-station, farm, Ishurdi, Pabna to find out definite dose of zinc application under zero tillage mustard cultivation for maximizing seed yield. The study was laid in a factorial Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replicates. Two modern varieties viz. Binasarisha-10 (V1) and BARI Sarisha-14 (V2) were tested with six level of Zn doses viz. 0.0 kg ha-1 (T1), 1.5 kg ha-1 (T2), 3.0 kg ha-1 (T3), 4.5 kg ha-1 (T4), 6.0 kg ha-1 (T5) and 7.5 kg ha-1 (T6). Seed were line broadcasted after harvesting T. aman rice during Rabi 2020 season. Data on yield parameters were collected after final harvesting and analyzed by Statistix 10. Results divulge that maximum straw and seed yield was attained with treatment combinations V1T4 (3.63 t ha-1) and V2T4 (2.24 t ha-1) with V2T3 (2.18 t ha-1). Whereas, the minimum was obtained from V2T5 (2.51 t ha-1) and V1T1 (0.99 t ha-1) along with V2T1 (1.01 t ha-1). Hence, soil application of Zn between 3 kg ha-1 to 4.5 kg ha-1 may give satisfactory yield for ZT farming.