THE FOLIAR APPLICATION OF NITROGEN AND ZINC APPLIED DURING TILLERING AND BOOTING STAGE ENHANCED THE GROWTH AND PRODUCTION OF WHEAT (TRITICUM AESTIVUM L.)

Foliar application of nitrogen and zinc has proven beneficial to achieve high yield and growth of wheat. A field trial was conducted with Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in three replications, at Student’s Experiment Farm, Department of Agronomy, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam during spring 2022-2023. The study explored the effect of foliar application of nitrogen (N) and zinc (Zn) on wheat (Triticum sativum L.) variety TD-1 on different growth stages. The treatment comprised T1 = Control, T2 = 2.0% N (tillering), T3 = 2.0% N (booting), T4 = 0.1% Zn (tillering), T5 = 0.1% Zn (booting), T6 = 2.0% N + 0.1% Zn (tillering), and T7 = 2.0% N + 0.1% Zn (booting). The results revealed that all the parameters were significantly affected (p <0.05) by foliar applications of N and Zn at both tillering and booting stages. The highest growth and yield traits were recorded when the plants were treated with 2.0 % N + 0.1% Zn applied (foliar) at tillering stage. However, the plants grown under control conditions exhibited lower performance for all the traits recorded. In conclusion, the interaction of 2.0% N + 0.1% Zn with foliar spray demonstrated positive response towards wheat variety TD-1 at tillering stage as compared to other treatments. Hence, the combined strategy of applying foliar nitrogen and zinc at tillering stage is recommended to get higher grain yields and plant growth for chaff production