PJB-2024-330
Evaluating yield and quality of wheat grains under single and integrated use of chemical and nano zinc fertilizers
Inzamam Ali Jamali, Zia-Ul-Hassan, Naheed Akhter Talpur, Javaria Afzal Arain, Amber Rehana Solangi and Nizamuddin Depar
Abstract
Pakistani soils are generally deficient in zinc (Zn) and require fertilizer Zn to get optimum crop yield. Nanotechnology serves as a promising solution for sustainable agriculture. It has been advocated that the Zn oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) greatly enhance the efficiency of applied Zn, improve crop yield, and Zn content of produce compared to chemical Zn fertilizers. The effect of single and integrated application of different doses of chemical and nano-Zn on wheat growth, yield and grain Zn accumulation was studied in a field experiment arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three repeats. The Zn treatments included, T1: control (no Zn applied), 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, T6: 2.5 kg Zn ha-1 through Zinc Sulphate + 2.5 kg Zn ha-1 through Zinc oxide nanoparticles, and T7: 1.25 kg Zn ha-1 through Zinc Sulphate + 1.25 kg Zn ha-1 through Zinc oxide nanoparticles. The results revealed that the application of ZnO-NPs at lower dose (1.25 kg Zn ha-1) attained a maximum increase in various physiological parameters and plant Zn accumulation, such as spikelets spike-1 (22.4) by 45.7%, grains spike-1 (67.5) by 83.5%, weight of 1000 grains (52.9) by 78.7%, grain yield (5320 kg ha-1) by 106.1%, straw yield (9719 kg ha-1) by 88.5%, straw Zn content (23.7 mg kg-1) by 72.5%, and grain Zn content (53.3 mg kg-1) by 106.3% over no Zn application. However, maximum plant height (121.2 cm) and spike length (13.9 cm) were noted under integrated application of ZnSO4 with ZnO-NPs at lower dose (1.25 kg Zn ha-1, each). Zinc oxide nanoparticles, as an efficient and cost-effective source, could be applied over conventional Zn fertilizer to increase yield and alleviate grain Zn deficiency of wheat.
To Cite this article:
Jamali, I.A., Z.U. Hassan, N.A. Talpur, J.A. Arain, A.R. Solangi and N. Depar. 2025. Evaluating yield and quality of wheat grains under single and integrated use of chemical and nano zinc fertilizers. Pak. J. Bot., 57(5): DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2025-5(7)
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