Effect of foliar and soil application of zinc for improving the production and productivity of wheat in rainfed rice-wheat cropping system under mid-hill zone of Himachal Pradesh

A field experiment was conducted during the Rabi season of 2024 at the Research Farm, Abhilashi University, Mandi (H.P.) to examine effect of foliar and soil application of zinc for improving the production and productivity of Wheat in rainfed Rice-Wheat cropping system under mid-hill zone of Himachal Pradesh. Eight treatments were used in the randomized block design trial, which was replicated thrice. The experiment was performed in RBD design with 8 treatment and were replicated thrice. The different treatment combination were T₁ - Control, T₂ - 100% RDN, T₃ - 100% RDN + Soil application of zinc @25 kg ha-1, T₄ - 100% RDN + Soil application of zinc @ 25 kg ha⁻¹ + 1 foliar application of zinc @ 0.5%, T₅ - 100% RDN + Soil application of zinc @ 25 kg ha⁻¹ + 1 foliar application of zinc @ 1%, T₆ - 100% RDN + 2 foliar applications of zinc @ 0.5%, T₇ - 100% RDN + 2 foliar applications of zinc @ 1%, and T₈ - 100% RDN + Soil application of zinc @ 25 kg ha⁻¹ + 1 foliar application of zinc @ 0.5% + 1 foliar application of zinc @ 1%. Treatment T₈ had the greatest values of growth metrics, such as plant height (cm), number of tillers (m-2), and matter accumulation (g m-2), according to the data analysis. Among the other treatments, treatment T8 also produced the highest yield qualities, including the number of effective tillers (m-2), spike length (cm) and number of grains spike-1. Throughout the research, the highest yields (grain yield (q ha⁻¹), straw yield (q ha⁻¹), and biological yield (q ha⁻¹) were all observed under treatment T₈. This was statistically equivalent to treatment T₇, which consisted of two foliar sprays of zinc at 1% and 100% RDN. The test weight (g) and harvest index (%) were not significant. The study revealed that the both foliar and soil application of zinc has improved the growth characteristics, yield attribute and yield of wheat. Finally, the study's findings also demonstrated the significance of zinc in raising grain production, and a thorough, large-scale examination is a good goal for raising grain yield in cereals.