EVALUATION OF THE DIFFERENT MICRONUTRIENTS AND THEIR METHODS OF APPLICATION ON CROP GROWTH RATE AND RELATIVE GROWTH RATE OF WHEAT CROP

A two-year field experiment was conducted at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture & Technology, Meerut to evaluate the impacts of various micronutrients and their application methods on the crop growth rate and relative growth rate of wheat crop.The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design with two factors and three replications.The factors used in experiment were four application methods consisting Soil Application, Seed Priming, Foliar Application and Seed Priming + Foliar Application and three micronutrients consisting manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn) and boron (B).The results revealed that among the application methods, Seed Priming + Foliar Application method produced the maximum crop growth rate of wheat during 30-60 DAS and 60-90 DAS and it was statistically at par with Seed Priming and Foliar Application methods during the 60-90 DAS, while, it was non-significant during 90 DAS-At harvest stages.However, the maximum relative growth rate of wheat crop was recorded with Seed Priming + Foliar Application method during 30-60 DAS and under Foliar Application method during 60-90 DAS, whereas, it was non-significant during 90 DAS-At harvest stage of wheat crop during both the years of experiment.Out of the micronutrients, the application of Mn produced the maximum crop growth rate of wheat crop during 30-60 DAS and 60-90 DAS and it was statistically on par with Zn application during the 60-90 DAS, but it was non-significant during 90 DAS-At harvest stage during both experimental years.Whereas, the maximum relative growth rate of wheat crop was noted by application of Mn during 30-60 DAS and with Zn application during 60-90 DAS, however, it was non-significant during 90 DAS-At harvest stages.