IM PACT OF DIF FER ENT LEV ELS OF ZN ON YIELD, QUAL ITY AND SOIL PROP ER - TIES OF SOY BEAN IN A VERTISOL

Progressive Research 8 (Special) : 297-1 (2013) Society for Sci. Dev. in Agric. and Tech. IM PACT OF DIF FER ENT LEV ELS OF ZN ON YIELD, QUAL ITY AND SOIL PROP ER - TIES OF SOY BEAN IN A VERTISOL Hemlata Ahirwar 1, P.S. Kulhare, K.S. Keram and S.S. Porte Deptt. of Soil Sci ence and Ag ri cul tural Chem is try, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur 482004 (M.P) 1 Address for author correspondence: Hemlata Ahirwar (RAEO), Office of the Senior Agriculture Development Officer, Block: Mohkhed, Distt: Chhindwara, 480 107, (M.P.) Key words: ABSTRACT To study the response of Zn application on growth, yield attributing characters, yield, oil and crude protein content of soybean and its impact on soil properties. The 100% recommended doses of fertilizers were applied @ 20 N: 80 P 2 O 5 : 20 K 2 O kg/ha in all treatments. Zn was applied @ 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 kg/ha as zinc sulphate at the time of sowing in all treatments except control (recommended NPK). The results indicated that combined application of recommended NPK and Zn significantly and positively affected the growth, yield attributing characters, yield, yard stick value and oil as well as crude protein content of soybean, as compared to NPK alone. There is no appraisal change in soil ph, EC and CaCO 3 but the status of organic carbon and available Zn in soil was improved remarkably due to rational Zn fertilization combined with recommended NPK. Zinc, yield, qual ity, soy bean, soil prop er ties, vertisol. Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merill] is a leguminous oilseed crop having worldwide adaptation. It is known as Golden bean or Miracle crop of 20th century as it is the richest source of protein (40%) and oils (20%). In India it is cultivated in 106.94 lakh ha with the production of 126.77 metric tons having the productivity of 1185 kg/ha. In Madhya Pradesh it is cultivated in 58.13 lakh ha with the production of 66.85 metric tons having the productivity of 10 kg/ha (1). The reasons of low productivity of soybean is mainly due to use of high analysis fertilizers, continuous nutrients mining by high yielding crop, leading to deficiency of some major and minor nutrients in soil, leaching and erosion losses and insufficient addition of organic manure etc. Zinc is considered as the most limiting factor in producing crops in different parts of the world (2). Amongst the micro-nutrients, the deficiency of Zn (50 per cent in soils of world as well as India) is widespread which adversely affect the growth yield and quality of soybean crop (3). Zn has most important role in the production of biomass furthermore, Zn may be require for chlorophyll production, pollen function, fertilization and germination. It plays an important role in synthesizing proteins, RNA, DNA and precursor of auxin which is essential for cell elongation. Also role in metabolism of nitrogen, synthesis of amino acid tryptophan, metabolism of starch, plants flowering and fruit set, increasing plant resistance to fungal disease and expanding plants roots (2). Keeping this in view, the present investigation was therefore conducted to evaluate the response of soybean to various levels Zn application. MATERIALS AND METHODS This research work was carried out in a Vertisol at the Research Farm of Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, J.N. Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur (M.P.). The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with five replications. The experimental soil (0- cm depth) was analyzed for initial soil physico-chemical properties. Some characteristics of the soil of experimental field are presented in table-1. Soybean-JS-97-52 was sown during kharif season, 2011-12 on 13 July with hand drill using seed rate 80 kg/ha. A basal dose of 20:80:20 N, P 2 O 5, and K 2 O was applied before sowing of wheat, through urea, super phosphate and muriate of potash fertilizers. The doses of Zn 0 (Control), 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 kg/ha were given through zinc sulphate fertilizer before sowing of wheat alongwith basal dose of N, P 2 O 5, and K 2 O. All crop management and protection measures were followed. Weed control practices were included physical method i.e., hoeing along with weedicides. The crop was harvested at maturity (

298 Impact of different levels of Zn on yield, quality and soil properties of soybean in a vertisol days after sowing) and grain and straw yield were recorded. Plant samples were collected at harvesting stage and grain samples were analysed for oil content using soxhlet apparatus with petroleum ether according to the method given by (4) and nitrogen by using Kjeldahl method () and crude protein was calculated by multiplying N content with the factor 6.25. The entire data was analysed statistically by using ANOVA technique (6). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Effect of Zn Fertilization on Growth Parameters of Soybean Plant height : It is evident from the data (table-2) that the application of 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 kg Zn/ha significantly increased the plant height over control at but the levels of Zn were found at par amongst themselves. While, the Zn application at 7.5 and 10.0 kg Zn/ha significantly increased the plant height over control at and the later dose also found significant over control at. The increase of plant height with increasing levels of Zn might be due to more availability and absorption of Zn from soil solution which caused more auxin metabolism, faster cell elongation and root and shoot development ultimately increased plant height of soybean (7). Table-1: The soil characteristics of experimental field. Sand (%) 26.1 Silt (%) 17.0 Clay (%) 54.3 Soil texture Clayey wrapdefaultph 7.2 EC (ds/m) 0.22 OC (g/kg) 6.3 CaCO 3 (g/kg) 22.4 Available N 223.0 Available P 17.7 Available K 314.3 Available Zn (mg/kg) 1.1 Number of leaves : The data presented in table-2 revealed that the increasing levels of Zn significantly increased the number of leaves over control at,, and except with 2.5 kg Zn/ha at. However, the 7.5 and 10.0 kg Zn/ha were found significantly superior to 5.0 kg Zn/ha at but the Zn levels were found at par amongst themselves at, and. At, the application of 10.0 kg Zn/ha was found significantly superior to 2.5 and 5.0 kg Zn/ha but it was found at par with 7.5 kg Zn/ha. This might be due to the faster cell division within the plant. Zn is involved in many enzymatic activities. It acts as a functional, structural or regulatory co-factor. However, zinc is required for synthesis of tryptophan and production of growth hormones such as indole acetic acid (8). Dry matter weight : The perusal of data (table-2) showed that the the dry matter weight per plant increased with the increasing levels of Zn at,,, and over control. The application of Zn levels were found non-significant at. However, the application of 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 kg Zn/ha significantly increased the dry matter weight per plant over control at,, and but the Zn levels were found at par amongst themselves. The increase of dry matter yield with increasing levels of Zn up to the highest dose of 10.0 kg Zn/ha at different might be due to increase of plant height and leaf number etc. as a result of increase of Zn availability with increasing Zn levels. (9) also reported the increase in dry matter weight of soybean per plant with increasing levels of Zn. Effect of Zn Fertilization on Yield Attributing Characters of Soybean Number of root nodule : The data presented in table-3 indicated that the number of root nodule plant per plant at increased with increasing levels of Zn but the Zn levels were found non-significant. The maximum numbers of root nodule 41 were observed at 7.5 and 10.0 kg Zn ha-1. The increase of number of root nodules with increasing levels of Zn might be due to Zn helps to improve more nodulation and laghaemoglobin formation (10). Number of pod per plant : The data presented in table-3 illustrated that the number of pod per plant at increased significantly with the increasing levels Zn over control. However, the number of pods with 10.0 kg Zn/ha was found significantly higher than that of 2.5 kg Zn/ha but the levels lower than 10.0 kg Zn/ha were found at par amongst themselves. The increase of number of pods per

Ahirwar et al., 299 T able-2: Effect of Zn application on growth parameters of soybean in Vertisol. Various growth parameters at different days after sowing () P lant height (cm) N umber of leaf plant- 1 Dry matter weight per plant (g ) 0 8.6 9 2 8.8 8 3 1.4 7 4 4.5 8 4 2.2 3 8 1 8 4 5 5 3 4 5 0.2 1 1.2 2 3.6 3 6.0 7 25.6 7 2.5 1 0.3 4 3 0.2 2 3 3.3 3 6 2.1 7 4 3.7 4 1 0 2 1 6 3 7 2 4 6 0.2 2 1.5 5 5.0 8 7.2 6 32.0 5 5.0 1 1.2 9 3 0.2 8 3 5.4 8 6 6.7 7 4 4.4 5 1 1 2 1 6 4 7 3 4 6 0.2 2 1.5 5 5.3 0 7.6 5 35.8 3 7.5 1 1.9 7 3 1.0 7 3 7.5 3 6 8.9 4 4 4.6 6 1 5 2 1 6 5 7 4 5 3 0.2 2 1.7 3 5.9 7 7.7 0 36.0 3 1 0.0 1 2.3 6 3 1.6 3 3 7.8 2 7 2.0 6 4 5.9 9 1 5 2 2 7 2 7 9 5 5 0.2 5 1.7 5 6.1 0 8.0 9 36.1 2 S Em (±) 0.5 8 1.3 8 1.6 9 4.0 3 1.2 2 0.7 9 0.9 6 2.7 3 2.5 6 2.5 8 0.0 1 0.1 0 0.4 3 0.3 4 1.5 7 C.D. (P=0.05) 1.7 4 N S 5.0 6 1 2.0 8 3.6 5 2.3 6 2.8 7 8.1 9 7.6 7 7.7 3 N S 0.3 1 1.2 8 1.0 3 4.7 2 SEm = Significant mean of error, C.D. = Critical difference, and NS = Non-significant plant with increasing levels of Zn might be due to the application of Zn through zinc sulphate had a positive effect on formation of stamens and pollens and can increase the activity of stamens and the flowers fertilized well and resulted more number of pods produced in the plant (11). Test weight : The data presented in table-3 indicated that the 1000-grain weight increased significantly at 7.5 kg Zn/ha (92.69 g) and 10.0 kg Zn/ha (92.92 g) over control but the lower Zn levels were found at par. The increase of seed weight with Zn application might be due to pivotal role of Zn in crop growth, assimilated photosynthates are translocated from vegetative plant parts to the seed, the seed weight enhanced considerably (12). Effect of Zn Fertilization on Quality Parameters of Soybean Oil content : The data related to oil content of soybean presented in table-3 emphasized that the oil content in grain significantly increased at 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 kg Zn/ ha over control but the difference between 5.0 and 7.5 kg Zn/ha was found non-significant. The maximum oil content of 20 % was recorded at 10.0 kg Zn/ha. The observed increase in oil content in soybean grain with Zn application might be due to activation of NADPH dependent dehydrogenase involved in fat synthesis by Zn. The present results corroborate the findings of Nandanwar et al. (2007). Crude protein content : The data presented in table-3 revealed that the crude protein content in soybean grain significantly increased with the application of 5.0 and 7.5 kg Zn/ha over control but the difference between the two levels of Zn was found non-significant. The maximum protein content of 38.36 % was recorded at 7.5 kg Zn/ ha. The increased crude protein content in soybean grain with Zn application might be due to the application of Zn increased N-metabolism, which enhanced accumula- tion of amino acids and increased the rate of protein synthesis and consequently, protein content in grain. Zinc also helps to improve more nodulation and leghaemoglobin formation might result higher nitrogen and protein content in soybean. Yield : The data presented in table-3 showed that the grain and stover yield increased significantly at 2.5, 5.0,

0 Impact of different levels of Zn on yield, quality and soil properties of soybean in a vertisol Table-3: Effect of Zn application on growth parameters of soybean in Vertisol. Yield attributing characters at different days after sowing () Number of root nodules Number of pod per plant Test weight (g) Yield Grain Stover Oil content Quality parameters (%) Crude protein content Yard stick value 0 34 48 1 86.99 2.58 2.97 33.63 17.05 21.50 2.5 38 67 136 92.04 2.75 3.28 35.46 17.31 22.48 5.0 40 71 142 92.46 2.88 3.34 37.83 18.04 23.01 7.5 41 77 143 92.69 2.80 3.40 38.36 18.61 21.92 10.0 41 84 1 92.92 2.77 3.39 35.09 20.00 21.29 SEm (±) 2.50 4.51 5.47 1.82 0.06 0.14 0.93 0.20 0.48 C.D. (P=0.05) NS 13.51 NS 5.47 0.18 0.41 2.79 0. 1.43 Table-4: Effect of Zn application on soil properties of Vertisol after harvesting of soybean. Soil properties parameters ph EC (ds/m) OC (g/kg) CaCO 3 (g/kg) Available Zn (mg/kg) 0 7.00 0.20 4.5 23.8 7.9 2.5 7.02 0.21 5.8 24.0 12.1 5.0 7.02 0.21 6.5 24.0 20.9 7.5 7.02 0.21 6.6 24.0 25.2 10.0 7.03 0.21 6.9 24.2 29.0 SEm (±) 0.028 0.016 0.10 1.22 0.95 C.D. (P=0.05) NS NS 0.29 NS 2.84 7.5 and 10.0 kg Zn/ha over control except grain yield with 2.5 kg Zn/ha but the Zn levels were found at par amongst themselves. The highest grain yield 2.88 t/ha was recorded at 5.0 kg Zn/ha. While, the highest stover yield 4.28 t/ha was recorded at 7.5 kg Zn/ha. This increased grain and stover yield of soybean with Zn application might be due to the increased growth parameters (plant height, dry matter weight plant per plant and root nodules) and yield attributes (pods per plant and test weight) as discussed above. Kanase et al. (2008) also reported that increase the grain and stover yield of soybean with increasing levels of Zn. Yard stick value : The data presented in table-3 revealed that the yard stick value significantly increased with 5.0 kg Zn/ha over control but it decreased significantly with 10.0 kg Zn/ha over 5.0 kg Zn/ha. This increased yard stick value up to 5.0 kg Zn/ha might be due to better utilization of applied nutrients by soybean crop but the decreased yard stick value with higher Zn levels which might be due to lower production of grain yield than total nutrient applied (14). Effect of Zn Fertilization on Post-Harvest Soil Properties of Soybean Soil ph, EC and CaCO 3 : The data presented in table-4 showed that application of increasing levels of Zn did not affected ph, EC and CaCO 3 content in the post-harvest soil. The treatments were found non-significant for ph, EC and CaCO 3. It might be due to high buffering capacity of the soil. The similar finding on ph, EC were reported by (). Soil organic carbon : The data presented in table-4 indicated that the application of increasing levels of Zn significantly increased the organic carbon content in soil over control. However, the application of 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 kg Zn/ha significantly increased the organic carbon content in soil over 2.5 kg Zn/ha but the difference between 5.0 and 7.5 kg Zn/ha was found non-significant. The increased soil organic carbon with the application of Zn levels might be due to higher dry matter production as result of higher Zn availability in soil. The dry matter and root stubbles remained in soil got decayed after harvesting might increase soil organic carbon than control ().

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