Yield enhancement and biofortification of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) grain with iron and zinc through foliar application of ferrous sulfate and urea

Abstract

This study investigated effects of iron (Fe) and nitrogen (N) foliar application on Fe and zinc (Zn) content in chickpea grain, grain yield, and protein content. Application of FeSO₄ at 0.5% at flowering + pod formation stages resulted in the highest Fe (73.50 and 75.34 mg Fe kg⁻¹ grain in first and second year) and Zn (35.08 and 34.21 mg Zn kg⁻¹ grain) content in grain followed by the application of FeSO₄ at 0.5% at flowering stage alone (68.27 and 69.97 mg Fe kg⁻¹ grain and 32.44 and 32.27 mg Zn kg⁻¹ grain) and control (54.63 and 55.69 mg Fe kg⁻¹ grain and 29.48 and 29.07 mg Zn kg⁻¹ grain). Urea spray at 2% at flowering as well as at flowering + pod formation stages also improved the Zn and Fe content in the grain. Combined use of Fe and urea improved the grain Fe and Zn content over sole application of Fe.

Keywords:

• biofortification
• chickpea
• iron
• nitrogen
• zinc

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India, for providing necessary facilities during the research work.