Effect of seed priming and foliar application of micronutrients on growth, yield and quality of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)

A field experiment was conducted during the Kharif season of 2025–26 at the Research Farm, Department of Soil Science, College of Agriculture, Badnapur, To study the effect of seed priming and foliar application of micronutrients on growth, yield and quality of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) grown in Vertisol. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with ten treatments and three replications. Treatments consisted of an absolute control; 100%, 75% and 60% of the recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) combined with seed priming using zinc sulphate and borax at 3 or 6 g kg−1 seed; and foliar application of Grade II micronutrient at flowering and seed-development stages at the respective fertilizer levels. Among the treatments, 100% RDF + seed priming with zinc sulphate and borax @ 6 g kg−1 seed (T3) recorded the highest plant height (196.33 cm), earhead diameter (18.13 cm), number of seeds earhead−1 (1130.67), seed yield (1893.67 kg ha−1), dry matter (129.83 g plant−1), oil content (31.86%), protein content (22.15%) and test weight (59.47 g). The 100% RDF treatments with seed priming at 3 g kg−1 and foliar application of Grade II micronutrient were generally statistically at par with T3 for several measured traits. The absolute control recorded the lowest values. The results indicate that balanced NPK fertilization supplemented with zinc and boron seed priming improved sunflower growth, yield attributes and seed quality under the conditions of this experiment.