PJB-2024-343
GROWTH, YIELD, AND ZINC ACCUMULATION OF ONION IN RELATION TO VARYING APPLICATION RATES OF CHEMICAL AND NANO ZINC FERTILIZERS
Mujahid Hussain Tunio
Abstract
Onion (Allium cepa L.) is an important food crop consumed all over the world. Zinc (Zn), an important micronutrient, is deficient in more than half of the arable lands of Pakistan. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) are an efficient source of Zn nutrition as they increase growth, yield, and plant Zn accumulation over conventional Zn sources. A field experiment was conducted to estimate the growth, yield, and Zn accumulation of onion in relation to varying application rates of chemical and nano zinc fertilizers at the Nuclear Institute of Agriculture (NIA), Tandojam, during the Rabi season of 2022-23 in a Randomized Complete Block Design with five treatments and three repeats. The treatments included T1: control (no Zn application), T2: 5.0 kg Zn ha-1 through Zinc sulphate, T3: 2.5 kg Zn ha-1 through Zinc oxide, T4: 2.5 kg Zn ha-1 through Zinc oxide nanoparticles, T5: 1.25 kg Zn ha-1 through Zinc oxide nanoparticles. The findings suggested that supplementation of Zn significantly increased the growth and yield attributes, and bulb Zn enrichment of onion over no Zn application treatment. The maximum increase in bulb weight (66.8%), polar diameter (35.7%), equatorial diameter (45.2%), bulb yield (70.1%), and Zn concentration in bulbs (94.4%) was noticed under the treatment receiving Zn at the reduced application rate (1.25 kg ha-1) through ZnO-NPs when compared to control. Conventional zinc sulphate (ZnSO4) was found to be the best Zn source in producing a maximum of 79.9 g leaf biomass (42.8%) and 65.4 cm leaf length (55.5%) at the vegetative stage. This study concluded that the application ZnO-NPs over chemical ZnSO4 is an effective strategy for enhancing the productivity and Zn accumulation of onion while ensuring an eco-friendly environment.
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