Effect of zinc and boron on growth, yield and economics of linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) under medium land of Jharkhand

An experiment was conducted during Rabi 2018-19 and 2019-20 at Research Farm of Birsa Agricultural University, Kanke, Ranchi, Jharkhand to study “The effect of Zinc and Boron on growth, yield and economics of Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) under medium land of Jharkhand”. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. The treatments comprised soil application of Zn @ 5 kg/ha, foliar application of ZnSO4 @ 0.5% at 45 DAS, soil application of Zn @ 5 kg/ha + foliar application of ZnSO4 @ 0.5% at 45 DAS, soil application of B @ 1.5 kg/ha, foliar application of Borax @ 0.3% at 45 DAS, soil application of B @ 1.5 kg/ha + foliar application of Borax @ 0.3% at 45 DAS, foliar application of ZnSO4 @ 0.5% + foliar application of Borax @ 0.3% at 45 DAS, soil application of Zn @ 5 kg/ha + soil application of B @ 1.5 kg/ha compared with control treatment along with RDF (40:20:20 kg NPK/ha) common to all treatments. Foliar application of ZnSO4 @ 0.5% + foliar application of borax @ 0.3% at 45 DAS found superior in terms of maximum plant height (53.75 cm and 55.14 cm), plant stand (201 and 216), dry matter accumulation (3.66 g/plant and 3.70 g/plant) yield attributing characters viz., number of capsules per plant (29.02 and 38.67), number of seeds per capsule (6.00 and 8.57), 1000 seed weight (7.59 g and 7.64 g), seed yield (12.99 q/ha and 13.35 q/ha), net return (₹ 33230/ha and ₹38201/ha) and B:C ratio (1.82 and 2.19) in both years respectively.