Response of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) to Soil and Foliar Application of Nano-ZnO and Bulk Zn-fertilizer in Red Acidic Soil of West Bengal, India

Abstract

I N CEREAL crops Zinc (Zn) deficiency has become a major problem which causes reduction in yield and nutritional quality of the cereal grain, thus affecting human health. Being an essential micronutrient for the production of rice (Oryza sativa L.) crop, Zn deficiency appears to be an acute problem for the human population whose staple food is rice. Small increase in the nutritive value of rice can thus contribute to the human nutrition. Thus, increasing the micronutrient content of a food crop with the help of enriched fertilizers appears to be an effective way. During two successive growing seasons (wet season, 2017 and dry season, 2018) at the experimental farm of PalliSiksha Bhavana, Visva-Bharati, West Bengal, India, field experiments were carried out to assess the potential of Zn fertilizer on plant height, grain quality, leaf chlorophyll and leaf Zn content of rice plant variety MTU-1010 by application of foliar Nano-ZnO (Zinc oxide) and soil ZnSO 4 .7H 2 O (Zinc Sulphate Hepta Hydrate). In both seasons, each experiment was conducted in a randomized block design (RBD) with three replicates. Soil Zn as ZnSO 4 .H 2 O applications were assigned in the plots at the rate of 5 kg/ha and 0.30% nano-ZnO were assigned as foliar Zn spray along with the basal doses of 80 kg nitrogen (N), 40 kg phosphorus (P 2 O 5 ) and 40 kg potassium (K 2 O)/ha as per the treatment details. After 15 days, 30 days, 45 days from transplanting and at the time of flowering as well as post-flowering chlorophyll (a, b, a+b) and Zn in rice plant leaves were determined. Plant heights were recorded after 30 days, 60 days and 90 days from transplanting and at the time of harvest. Quality parameters such as amylose, starch and crude protein content of the grain samples were determined at harvest stage. The results obtained from present assessment showed that, application of soil as well as foliar Zn resulted in significant increase in leaf Zn content, chlorophyll content, grain crude protein and plant height compared to the control. No significant effect on starch and amylose was recorded with Zn fertilization. Foliar spraying with 0.30% nano-ZnO at the time of flowering and post flowering showed a significant augmentation in leaf Zn concentration, chlorophyll content, plant height and quality of rice grain compared to the treatments receiving soil Zn application. Therefore, it is considered as a more beneficial treatment in the cultivation of rice plants to promote plant growth and quality.

Nanofibers for Sustainable Agriculture: A Short Communication

“…This is a call by the Egyptian Journal of Soil Science (EJSS) for more articles about the nanofibers and its applications for soil and water in different point of views. Several published articles by EJSS during the last years focused on the sustainable agriculture and different applications of nanotechnology such as Elbltagy et al ( 2021), Mandal and Ghosh (2021).…”

Status and Distribution of Available Nutrients in South El-Amiria Soils, Alexandria Governorate, Egypt Using Gis Technique.

“…Zinc microelement plays an important role in many vital plant processes such as: cellular communication and participates in DNA transcription, intracellular and extracellular signaling (Caldelas andWeiss, 2017 andAbd El-Zaher et al, 2022). Zn deficiency has been addressed as a public health problem in the developing world, giving rise to severe health complications and socio-economic problems (Stein et al, 2007 and, Mandal andGhosh, 2021).…”