Effect of Foliar Spray of Zinc on Growth and Yield of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)
Effect of Foliar Spray of Zinc on Growth and Yield of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)
Rehman Ali Keerio1, Nighat Seema Soomro1, Aijaz Ahmed Soomro1, Mohammad Aquil Siddiqui2, Muhammad Tahir Khan2, Ghulam Shah Nizamani2*, Muhammad Nawaz Kandhro1, Maryum Siddiqui4, Hajra Khan3 and Farheen Deeba Soomro1
ABSTRACT
Pakistan fulfils 80% of its edible oil requirements through import from other countries. Import of edible oil is a huge burden on country’s economy and therefore, indigenous oil production must be augmented. Sunflower seed contains 40% of good quality oil. Hence, it can play a significant role for fulfilling the Pakistan’s oil needs. This study was conducted to identify the optimum foliar zinc (Zn) supplement for sunflower variety HO-1. The experiment was conducted at field of Oil Seeds Section, Agriculture Research Institute (ARI), Tandojam, Sindh using RCBD design with three replications. The maximum plant height (203.33 cm), stem girth (11.67 cm), head diameter (19.71 cm), number of seeds head-1 (1300.0), seeds weight head-1 (62.74 g), seeds index (60.12 g), seed yield (1927.8 kg ha-1) and oil content (41.92%) were observed under 2.00% Zn, while and minimum plant height (143.67 cm), stem girth (6.19 cm), head diameter (12.65 cm), number of seeds head-1 (715.3), seeds weight head-1 (35.53 g), seed index (43.82 g), seed yield (1062. 7 kg ha-1) and oil content (29.28%) was recorded under control (no foliar spray of Zn). Thus, the plant height, stem girth, head diameter, and number of seeds head-1 increased by 41.5%, 88.5%, 55.8% and 81.7%, respectively on applying highest concentration of Zn. While, seeds weight head-1, seeds index, seed yield, and oil content ascended by 76.6%, 37.2%, 81.4%, and 43.2%, receptively as compared to the control. It was concluded on the basis of these findings that the foliar application of Zn in 2.0% concentration can be employed to increase the sunflower yield and oil content. The study suggests that Zn can be employed for improving sunflower yields and quality, especially in regions where the soils are Zn deficient. Such approaches could contribute to optimizing current fertilization strategies and can help in improving sunflower production.
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