Effect of Zinc solubilizing microorganisms on Zinc release in soil – an Incubation Study

Zinc (Zn) is an essential micro-nutrient that plays a critical role in various physiological and metabolic processes. However, Zn deficiency embarks the most widespread micronutrient deficiency in cultivated lands, thereby reducing yield and nutritional quality of agricultural crops. This study aims to evaluate the impact of different Zn fertilizers and zinc solubilizing microorganism (ZSM) on Zn release patterns through an incubation study. The incubation study of 100 days was carried out in Zn-deficient soil at Nagaland University during 2021. The experiment consists of 14 treatments in combination with 03 Zn sources viz. Zn 21% (ZnSO4 7 H2 O); Zn-EDTA 12%; and ZnO 80% @ 5, 7.5 kg ha-1, along with or without ZSM @ 7.5 kg ha-1; and RDF @, 20: 80: 40: 30: (N, P2 O5 , K2 O, S) kg ha-1 and was laid out in Completely Randomized Block Design (CRBD) with three replications. The study revealed that, across the treatments, the control showed the lowest Zn availability, which was 6.97 to 47.39% less than the other treatments. Among the three sources, ZnSO4 ·7H2 O application led to 0.1 to 18.0% and 0.1 to 8.6% higher available Zn release compared to ZnO and Zn-EDTA, respectively. Furthermore, adding ZSM resulted in even greater Zn concentrations compared to Zn fertilizers alone. The treatment combining 7.5 kg ha- ¹ ZnSO·7HO with ZSM at the 75-day incubation interval recorded the highest Zn concentration (0.66 mg kg- ¹), which was 1.54 to 57.14% greater than the other treatments in the overall study period.