Zinc biofortification and agronomic indices of pearl millet under semi-arid region

摘要

Zinc deficiency is a global challenge and improving the grain Zn concentration of cereal crops is a high-priority research area. An investigation was conducted in 2011-12 to study the effects of nitrogen (N) and zinc (Zn) fertilizer on zinc biofortification in pearl millet. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design (factorial), with four nitrogen rates (0, 20, 40 and 60 kg N/ha) and three rates of zinc (0, 5 and 10 kg Zn/ha) with three replication. The grain yield significantly increased 47.65% from 0 to 60 kg N/ha and 31.47 % from 0 to 10 kg Zn/ha. Nitrogen and zinc significantly interact and recorded highest zinc content (26.1 mg/kg) with 20 kg N with 5 kg Zn/ha. The agronomic efficiency, partial factor productivity and apparent recovery efficiency (nitrogen and zinc) diminished as nitrogen and zinc rates increased. An interaction was recorded with nitrogen and zinc fertilizer for partial factor productivity (nitrogen) with 20 kg N with 10 kg Zn/ha and for apparent recovery efficiency (Zn) with 20 kg N with 5 kg Zn/ha.