Response of Phosphorus and Zinc on Growth and Yield of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

A field experiment was conducted at the Crop Research Farm, Department of Agronomy, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj during Rabi season 2022-23 on chickpea crop. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with ten treatments and three replication. The treatments consist of 3 levels of Phosphorus (30, 40 and 50 kg/ha) and 3 levels of Zinc (10, 15 and 20 kg/ha). The treatment combinations are as follows, T1 – 30 kg/ha Phosphorus + 10 kg/ha Zinc, T2 – 30 kg/ha Phosphorus and 15 kg/ha Zinc, T3 – 30 kg/ha Phosphorus and 20 kg/h Zinc, T4 – 40 kg/ha Phosphorus + 10 kg/ha Zinc, T5 – 40 kg/ha Phosphorus + 15 kg/ha Zinc, T6 – 40 kg/ha Phosphorus + 20 kg/ha Zinc, T7 – 50 kg/ha Phosphorus + 10 kg/ha Zinc, T8 – 50 kg/ha Phosphorus + 15 kg/ha Zinc, T9 – 50 kg/ha Phosphorus + 20 kg/ha Zinc and T10 – (control). The nutrient sources were Urea, Single Super Phosphate (SSP) and Muriate of Potash (MOP), applied as per the recommended dose of 20-40-20 kg NPK/ha. As per the treatment, application of phosphorus and zinc were done as basal application. The treatment consisted of soil application of Phosphorus (30 kg/ha, 40 kg/ha and 50 kg/ha), Zinc (10 kg/ha, 15 kg/ha and 20 kg/ha) and zinc and a control (20-40-20 kg NPK/ha). The results of the experiment showed that, plant height (48.81 cm), dry weight (14.88 g) number of nodules/plant (14.67), number of pods/plant (30.07), number of seeds/pod (1.37), seed index (21.36 g), seed yield (2.66 t/ha) and stover yield (4.26 t/ha), harvest index (38.31) were recorded significantly highest with the application Phosphorus 50 kg/ha + Zinc 20 kg/ha. Maximum gross returns (152516.67 INR/ha), net returns (102367.23 INR/ha), and B-C ratio (2.04) were also obtained with the same treatment.