Influence of zinc fertilization on growth and yield attributes of black gram (Vigna mungo L.) under zinc-deficient soil

The field experiment was carried out during Kharif season of 2023-24 at Research farm, Department of Soil Science, College of Agriculture, Latur. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Block Design comprising eight treatments viz. T1-Control, T2-RDF, T3-RDF + S.A. of ZnSO4 @ 25 Kg/ha, T4-RDF + F.A. of ZnSO4 @ 0.5% at 25 and 40 DAS, T5-RDF + S.A. of ZnSO4 @ 25 Kg/ha + F.A. of ZnSO4 @ 0.5% at 25 and 40 DAS, T6-RDF + S.A. of Grade-I micro-nutrient @ 25 kg/ha, T7-RDF + F.A. of Grade-II micro-nutrient @ 0.5% at 25 and 40 DAS and T8-RDF + S.A. of Grade-I micro-nutrient @ 25 kg/ha + F.A. of Grade-II micro-nutrient @ 0.5% at 25 and 40 DAS, each replicated thrice. The findings of the study revealed that the key growth attributes such as plant height (30.20 cm, 35.10 cm and 51.80 cm), leaf area (485.30 cm2, 515.67 cm2), nodulation (31.70) showed substantial improvement with the application of RDF + S.A. of Grade-I micronutrient @ 25 kg ha-1 + F.A. of Grade-II micronutrient @ 0.5% at 25 and 40 DAS which was found at par with treatment RDF + S.A. of ZnSO4 @ 25 kg ha⁻1 + F.A. of ZnSO4 @ 0.5% at 25 and 40 DAS. In terms of productivity, significantly higher number of pods plant-1 (21.20), number of seeds pod-1 (2.80), grain yield (1410.22 kg ha-1) and straw yield (1446.57 kg ha-1) were observed with treatment RDF + S.A. of Grade-I micronutrient @ 25 kg ha-1 + F.A. of Grade-II micronutrient @ 0.5% at 25 and 40 DAS. This performance was found statistically at par with treatment RDF + S.A. of ZnSO4 @ 25 kg ha⁻1 + F.A. of ZnSO4 @ 0.5% at 25 and 40 DAS.