Yield and quality of different wheat cultivars as influenced by agronomic biofortification of N, K, S and Zn through foliar sprays in North-Western India

Abstract

Agronomic bio-fortification remains a crucial focus area for enhancing wheat productivity and quality while alleviating environmental pressures. Micronutrient deficiencies, particularly in iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn), persist among the Indian population, especially affecting women. These deficiencies can be effectively addressed through agronomic bio-fortification of wheat grains. To tackle this issue, a comprehensive multilocation (4) field experiment was conducted, incorporating four high-yielding wheat cultivars (HD-3226, HI-1544, DBW-187, and PBW-1-Zn) alongside six foliar fertilizer applications (Control, 2% S, 2% N, 0.5% ZnSO4.7H2O, 1% KCl, and combined treatments) during 2021-22 and 2022-23 utilizing a split-plot design with three replications. Analysis over the years revealed that significant impacts of location and cultivar on yield and its attributes, and Fe, Zn, and protein content of grains. Warmer locations like Hisar exhibited higher yields primarily due to significantly increased earheads/m² and grains number/m² compared to other locations. Moreover, Fe content in wheat grains was notably higher in Gurdaspur followed by Hisar, surpassing Ludhiana. Notably, cultivar DBW-187 outperformed others with a 14.75% higher grain yield than the least yielding cultivar, HI-1544. PBW-1-Zn exhibited the highest grain Fe and Zn content among the cultivars studied. The interaction between cultivar and location significantly influenced all yield parameters and grain Fe content. Foliar spray of ZnSO₄ (0.5%) during stem elongation and milk stages resulted in significantly higher grain Zn content compared to applications of KCl (1.0%), N (2.0%), and S (2.0%) alone, with an increase of 9.9% over no spray. In conclusion, the selection of appropriate cultivars tailored to specific regions, coupled with strategic agronomic bio-fortification approaches, is imperative for enhancing wheat productivity and grain quality, thereby ensuring nutritional security.

Keywords:

• Agronomic bio-fortification
• cultivars
• iron
• protein
• sulfur
• wheat
• zinc

Acknowledgements

The work done by all co-operators under All India Coordinated Research Project on Wheat and Barley is dully acknowledged.

Ethics approval

All authors approve ethical responsibilities related with this manuscript.

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All authors give their consent to participate.

Consent for publication

All authors give their consent for publication in Journal of Plant Nutrition.

Authors’ contributions

SCT conceptualized idea, coordinated the conduct of experiments, drafted and edited the manuscript, NK edited, KV analyzed data, made graphs and edited.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

All the data will be available on request to corresponding author.