Screening of Rice cultivars responding to Zinc fertilization

Bandita Jena*, R.K. Nayak & J. Das
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology, Bhubaneswar–751003, Odisha, India

A B S T R A C T
Zinc malnutrition affects a large population, particularly women and children fed with cereals having low Zn concentration due to wide spread Zn deficiency in soils. Genetic manipulation and /or agronomic biofortification are the ways to enhance the Zn concentration in grains. (Cakmak, 2008).With this view, an agronomic biofortification strategy was taken to enhance  Zn concentration in different  in different rice cutivars. A Field experiment was conducted in Inceptisol and Zinc application was made in soil (20kgha^-1 ) as well as soil plus two foliar spray (0.5% ZnSO₄.7H₂O solution at pre-flowering and panicle emergence). The treatments were replicated thrice with strip plot design. The results indicated that the grain yield of rice and concentration of zinc in grain were higher at long duration cultivars. Short duration cultivars (115-130 days) could accumulate higher amount of zinc while greater response recorded in cultivars of 130-145 days. The zinc concentration in grain was maximum with two foliar spraying of ZnSO₄ along with soil application while grain yield was at par in both soil application and soil plus foliar application.
Keywords: Biofortification, Zinc, Rice, Varieties