Exogenous Application of Potassium and Zinc for the Growth, Yield and Agronomic Zinc Biofortification of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

In agriculture, the application of micronutrient application takes place through soil application, foliar spraying, or added seed treatments. Potassium (K) application fulfills the deficiency of K in soil due to a continuous exhaustive cropping system. Zinc (Zn) bio-fortification of seed by priming is responsible for increasing the concentration of Zn in the edible part of a seed with the aim of remedying malnutrition.  For this, a field experiment was conducted at the Agronomic research area, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan. Treatment included different rates of K (0, 40, 60, and 80 kg ha^-1) and different rates of Zn (0, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6%). Potassium was applied in fertigation while zinc was applied in foliar form. The experiment was designed in Randomized complete block design (RCBD) and was repeated three times. It resulted that different rate of potassium and zinc application showed a significant effect on plant growth and yield attributes. Plant growth and yield increased with increasing the rate of potassium and zinc application and decreased with the decreasing the rate of application of potassium and zinc application. The maximum values for plant growth and yield attributes were observed with K₃ and Zn₃ while the minimum values were recorded with the application of K₀ and Zn₀. Results regarding the nutrient uptakes showed that maximum values for zinc uptake were also recorded in seed and stem attributes. Maximum values for zinc uptake in seed and stem (37.2 and 14.5 mg/kg) were observed in the Zn₃ treatment and the minimum values for zinc uptake (30.1 and 11 mg/kg) were recorded Zn₀ treatment, respectively. It was concluded that 80 kg ha-1 application of potassium with 0.6 % foliar application of zinc significantly affects the growth and yield of wheat crops. Zinc foliar application can be helpful for zinc fortification.