Background: The application of micronutrients through foliar spraying proves beneficial in scenarios where roots fail to supply the required nutrients. Micronutrient foliar sprays enable the direct and efficient utilization of nutrients by plants through their leaves, manifesting observable effects within a short period which ultimately increases seed quality and yield in soybean.
Methods: The present investigation on “Effect of foliar application of micronutrients on seed quality and yield of soybean” was conducted during kharif 2022 at Post Graduate Institute, MPKV, Rahuri. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with eight treatments in three replications. The treatments comprise of different micronutrients such as Borax @200 ppm, FeSO4 @200 ppm, ZnSO4 @200 ppm, CuSO4 @100 ppm MnSO4 @100 ppm, (NH4)2MoO4 @100 ppm, Phule Grade 2 Micronutrient 100 ml/10 lit water including control. The micronutrients were applied as foliar spray at 25 and 40 days after sowing.
Results: The Phule Grade 2 Micronutrient was found to be better treatment for growth, seed quality and yield characters of soybean variety Phule Sangam viz., days to 50% flowering (42 days), plant height (74.80 cm), days to maturity (100 days), number of branches (7.26), moisture content (9.30 %), germination (92.66 %), speed of germination (22.40), root length (14.20 cm), shoot length (20.00 cm), shoot root ratio (1.43), seedling dry weight (1.89 g), seed vigour index I (3160), seed vigour index 2 (174), dead seed (1.66), electrical conductivity (0.42 dS/m), number of pods per plant (85.06), number of seeds per pod (3.00), 1000 seed weight (168 g), seed yield per plant (41.50 g).
Conclusion: Application of Phule grade 2 micronutrient treatment as two foliar sprayings at 25 and 40 DAS was found more beneficial in increasing growth, yield and seed quality characters of soybean variety Phule Sangam as compared to the untreated control treatment.
phule grade 2 micronutrient, phule sangam, soybean, spraying, quality and yield
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