Suitable Integrated Nutrient Management and Zinc Application To Improve Soil properties, Yield and Nutrient Content of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in Zinc-deficient Soils
摘要
Excessive use of chemical fertilizers can disrupt soil properties, leading to imbalanced nutritional status, particularly for micronutrients like zinc. Zinc deficiency in wheat-growing regions of Punjab impacts crop productivity. Scientifically proven techniques and zinc solubilizer bacteria can help sustainably mitigate zinc shortage in crops. The experiment consisted of three zinc application. soil (Z1), foliar (Z2), and soil + foliar application (Z3) in the main plot. In addition, there were seven integrated nutrient management practices in the subplot: N1:50% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) + 5 t ha-1 Farm yard manure (FYM) + Azotobacter, N2:75%RDF + 2.5 t ha-1 FYM + Azotobacter, N3:50%RDF + 5 t ha-1 FYM + Phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB), N4: 75%RDF + 2.5 t ha-1 FYM + PSB, N5: 50%RDF + 5 t ha-1 FYM + Zinc Solubilizing Bacteria (ZSB), N6: 75%RDF + 2.5 t ha-1 FYM + ZSB and N7: 100%RDF (120:60:40 N-P-K kg ha-1). The study found that combining soil and foliar application of zinc significantly increased crop yield and yield attributes compared to soil or foliar application alone. The relationship between zinc application techniques and integrated nutrient management was statistically significant. Treatment Z3 × N6 yielded the highest. The implementation of INM practices i.e., 75% RDF + 2.5 t ha-1 FYM + ZSB along with combined soil and foliar zinc application resulted in enhanced availability of nitrogen(N), phosphorus(P), potassium(K), and DTPA extractable zinc (Zn) in the soil. Nevertheless, the bulk density exhibited a reduction when chemical fertilizer was utilized in combination with FYM.