Effect of different modes of zinc fertilization on growth, yield and economics of quality protein maize under rainfed conditions of Jammu

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of different modes of zinc fertilization on quality protein maize, to assess the response of zinc on growth, yield attributes, yield and nutrient uptake in quality protein maize. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design and was replicated thrice. The soil of the experimental field was sandy loam in texture, near to neutral in reaction, low in organic carbon, available nitrogen, potassium and zinc but medium in available phosphorus. The experimental results revealed that seeds treated with zinc-sulphate @ 4g zinc per kg of seed + 1.5% foliar spray with ZnSO4 at knee high and silking stage recorded significantly higher growth, yield attributes and yield, which was statistically at par with seeds treated with ZnSO4 @ 4g/kg of seed + 1% foliar spray of ZnSO4 at knee high and silking stage and seed treatment with ZnSO4 @ 2g/kg of seed + 1.5% foliar spray of zinc-sulphate at knee high and silking stage. In terms of economics, the similar treatment (zinc-sulphate @ 4g/ kg of seed + 1.5% foliar spray using zinc-sulphate at knee high and silking) recorded the highest gross returns, Net returns and B: C ratio, which was closely followed by zinc-sulphate @ 4g/ kg seed + 1% foliar spray of ZnSO4 at knee high and silking stage. Hence, seed treatment with zinc sulphate @ 4g/ kg of seed + foliar application of zinc sulphate @ 1.5% emerged as an effective approach in enhancing growth and yield of quality protein maize under rainfed conditions.