Effect of Foliar Application of Iron, Zinc and Age of Seedlings on Growth and Yield of Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

A field experiment was conducted during the kharif (July-November) season of 2017 at Crop Research Farm, Department of Agronomy, Naini Agricultural Institute, SHUATS, Allahabad to evaluate the effects of foliar application of Iron and Zinc with age of seedlings on yield attributes and economics of Hybrid Rice (Oryza sativa L.). The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with 12 treatment combinations. Treatments comprised three aged (15, 25 and 35 days) seedlings and foliar application of zinc and iron at 45 and 65 DAT. The experimental results reveals that foliar application of zinc and iron at 45 DAT with 15 days old seedlings recorded significantly higher plant height at 80 DAT (112.51 cm), number of tillers hill-1 at 80 DAT (14.40), leaf area index at 80 DAT (5.86),Number of effective tillers hill-1 (13.33) and grain yield (7.11 t ha-1). Whereas, plant dry weight at 80 DAT (96.17 g hill-1), length of panicle at harvest (29.37), test weight (24.13 g) and harvest index (46.70 %) were significantly higher with a combination of 15 days old seedlings and foliar application of iron at 45 DAT.