Effect of micronutrients on plant growth and yield in green gram

Abstract

Green gram is one of the main pulse crops in India. Green gram is the major source of protein and fibre. It is eaten both in raw form (sprouted green gram) and cooked form (dal). The use of micronutrients in crop production is gaining importance now a day. An investigation was undertaken during Rabi 2013-14 in the department of Seed Science and Technology, O.U.A.T, Bhubaneswar to find out the response of micronutrients application on plant growth, yield in green gram cv.PDM-11. Five different micronutrients viz. zinc, boron, molybdenum, manganese and cobalt were applied in different concentrations, singly and in combination consisting of ten treatments namely, soil application of Zn (10 & 25kg zinc sulphate; zinc chelate @500g/ha) and B (5 & 10 kg borax/ha), seed treatment of Mo (Ammonium molybdate @ 5g/kg) and Co (Cobalt nitrate @1g/kg), foliar spray of Mn (Manganese dioxide @ 0.5%), mixture of all micronutrients and a control. Applications of 25kg ZnSO4/ha, 10 kg borax/ha and micronutrients mixture resulted in enhancement of plant growth and yield characteristics viz. plant height, number of branches, pods, seeds and seed weight. The highest seed yield of 854.7kg/ha was obtained with application of micronutrients mixture followed by the application of borax @ 10kg/ha (830.50kg).Moderate effects were observed with application of Zn and Mo in respect of these traits. In general, applications of Zn, B and Mo in combinations were found effective in enhancing yield in this crop.