Impact of Integrated Zinc and Iron Management Practices on Biochemical Attributes and Nutrient Uptake of Marigold cv. Local Orange

Abstract

A pot culture experiment was conducted at the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University during 2021-2022 to study the response of integrated zinc and iron management practices on biochemical attributes and nutrient uptake of marigold cv. Local Orange. The experiment was laid out in completely randomized design (CRD) with eight treatments and three replications. The eight treatments included an untreated control (T1), 100% Recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) (T2) , RDF + FYM enriched with ZnSO4 and FeSO4 @ 10 and 15 kg ha-1 respectively (T3), RDF + FYM enriched with ZnSO4 and FeSO4 @ 15 and 20 kg ha-1 respectively (T4), RDF + FYM enriched with ZnSO4 and FeSO4 @ 20 and 25 kg ha-1 respectively (T5), RDF + foliar spray of ZnSO4 and FeSO4 each @ 0.5% (T6), RDF + foliar spray of ZnSO4 and FeSO4 @ 0.5 and 1.0 % respectively (T7), RDF + foliar spray of liquid multi micronutrient @ 1.0 % (T8). The application of integrated zinc and iron was observed to exhibit a significant effect on growth, yield, biochemical attributes and nutrient uptake. Maximum total chlorophyll content in leaf (mg g-1) and nutrient uptake was observed with the application of RDF + foliar spray of ZnSO4 and FeSO4 each @ 0.5% (T6) while regarding biochemical attributes viz., total carotenoid content in petals (mg g-1) and total phenols (mg g-1) maximum was observed with the application of RDF + foliar spray of liquid multi micronutrient @ 1.0 % (T8) which contains the proper amount of zinc and iron.