Foliar Application of Micronutrients Enhances Wheat Growth, Yield and Related Attributes

Muhammad Zain¹, Imran Khan^1*, Rashid Waseem Khan Qadri², Umair Ashraf³, Sajid Hussain¹, Sajid Minhas¹, Asif Siddiquei¹, Muhammad Muzammil Jahangir², Mohsin Bashir²

¹Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
²Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
³Department of Crop Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.

DOI: 10.4236/ajps.2015.67094                

Abstract

Wheat is one of the most essential foods in the world. To increase its productivity, nutrient management is one of the most important factors. To assess the possible role of micronutrients in improving wheat yield, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the wheat performance by foliar application of micronutrients. Treatments consist of T1 = No spray, T2 = Spraying plants with tube well water (control), T3 = Spraying plants with 1.6 kg FeSO4/100 L water/acre, T4 = Spraying plants with 3 kg ZnSO4 (21%)/100 L water/acre, T5 = Spraying plants with 1 kg MnSO4/100 L water/acre, T6 = Spraying plants with (FeSO4 + MnSO4), T7 = Spraying plants with (FeSO4 + ZnSO4), T8 = Spraying plants with (ZnSO4 + MnSO4), and T9 = Spraying plants with (FeSO4 + ZnSO4 + MnSO4). Results showed that foliar application of micronutrients substantially improved plant height, spike length cm, spikelets/spike, grains/spike, test weight, Tillers m^-2, grain and biological as well as harvest index of wheat. Among treatments, foliar application of FeSO4 + ZnSO4 + MnSO4 remained comparatively better regarding yield related attributes of whea

Keywords

Micronutrients, Growth, Spikelets, Yield, Wheat

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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