Vol. 9, Special Issue 12, Part O (2025)

A field experiment on “Studies on the effect of iron and zinc fertilization on yield and quality of wheat under dry land agriculture” was conducted at College of Agriculture, Vijayapura during rabi 2020-21. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with ten treatments and three replications. Apart from the recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF), the treatments included the application of ferrous sulphate @ 10, 20 and 30 kg ha^-1 and zinc sulphate @ 5, 10 and 15 kg ha^-1 in various combinations along with RDF. The effect of these treatments on yield and quality of wheat was studied. The application of different levels of ferrous sulphate and zinc sulphate in combinations along with RDF (@ 50:25:0:: N: P₂O₅: K₂O kg ha^-1) resulted in significant increase in growth and yield of wheat over RDF alone. Among the different treatments, application of RDF + 30 kg FeSO₄ ha^-1 + 10 kg ZnSO₄ ha^-1 has resulted in significantly higher plant height (95.59 cm), grain test weight (49.66 g) and grain (1,793 kg ha^-1) and straw (3134 kg ha^-1) yield of crop. The treatment also resulted in higher uptake of major (N, P, K and S) and micro (Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn) nutrients by wheat crop. Similarly, the application of RDF + 30 kg FeSO₄ ha^-1 + 10 kg ZnSO₄ ha^-1 resulted in higher iron and zinc content in both grain and straw of wheat, higher protein content in grains and significantly higher available Fe and Zn status in soil after harvest of crop. Thus, the combined application of 30 kg FeSO₄ ha^-1 + 10 kg ZnSO₄ ha^-1 along with RDF (50:25:0:: N: P₂O₅: K₂O kg ha^-1) was found to be a better means of balanced nutrition of wheat crop to ensure higher productivity.