Evaluation of phosphorus and zinc interaction effects on wheat grown in saline-sodic soil

Abstract

The essentiality of phosphorus (P) as a macronutrient and that of zinc (Zn) as micronutrient for plants has been established long ago but their interactive effects on economic yield of crops are still controversial particularly in calcareous saline-sodic soils. Therefore, a pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the P-Zn interaction effects on wheat in saline-sodic soil. The treatments comprised of four levels of P (0, 25, 50 and 75 mg kg-1 soil) and three levels of Zn (0, 5 and 10 mg kg-1 soil) arranged in completely randomized design each with three replications. The results showed that total number of tillers, plant height, straw dry weight and 1000-grain weight was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher in saline-sodic control closely followed by applied P at 75 mg kg-1 soil + Zn at 5 mg kg-1 soil (P75Zn5). While maximum Zn concentration in wheat straw and grains was observed in P75Zn5. The maximum ammonium-bicarbonate-diethylene-triamine-penta-acetic acid (AB-DTPA) extractable P and Zn in post-experiment soil was recorded with P at 75 mg kg-1 soil + Zn at 10 mg kg-1 soil (P75Zn10). Thus, application of P at 75 mg kg-1 soil along with Zn 5 mg kg-1 soil was the appropriate combination of P and Zn for substantial increase in growth and yield of wheat in saline-sodic soil.