Effect of Zinc as Foliar Application on Growth, Quality and Yield of Lentil (Len culinaris)

Background: The field experiment was conducted to effect of zinc as foliar application on growth, quality and yield of lentil (Len culinaris) at the farm of Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab during rabi season 2022-23. Methods: Study was conduct on total seven treatment combinations, T0 control (0%), T1 (100% RDF), T2 (75% RDF+ Zn 0.02%), T3 (75% RDF + Zn 0.04%), T4 (50% RDF + Zn 0.06%), T5 (50% RDF + Zn 0.08%) and T6 (50% RDF + Zn 0.10%) replicated thrice in RBD design. Result: All the growth parameters and yield were found significant. Maximum plant height (28.29 cm) and number of branches (21.67) of lentil in 90 DAS were seen in T3 (75% RDF + Zn 0.04%). There was a significant main effect of applying zinc as foliar application on growth, quality and yield of lentil. The maximum grain yield was recorded as 1695.00 kg/ha in T5 (50% RDF + Zinc @0.08%) and minimum was recorded as 1111.67 kg/ha in T0 (actual control). Thus, zinc applied topically improved the growth, output, quality and financial gains of lentil farming, demonstrating zinc’s potential as a useful agronomic technique.