Agronomic Biofortification of Zinc and Iron on Yield Potential and Zinc Fortification in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Varieties under Arid Western Plains Zone of Rajasthan

Abstract

Background: According to the World Health Organization on worldwide prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies, zinc deficiency ranked 11th amongst twenty most important factors in the world, whereas zinc and iron deficiency ranks 5th and 6th respectively, amongst ten most important factors in developing countries. Among micronutrients, zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) deficiency in human nutrition are wide spread in Asian developing countries including India. Therefore, agronomic biofortification is easiest and immediate effective method for enriching seed with zinc and iron, which could relieve malnutrition issues in developing countries, particularly in India. Methods: A field trial was carried out to study the agronomic biofortification of zinc and iron in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) varieties under Arid Western Plains Zone of Rajasthan. Growing of two varieties namely GNG-1581 and RSG-974 and seven fortification treatments included various doses of zinc and iron were assigned under FRBD and trial was carried out at Instructional Farm, College of Agriculture, Jodhpur (Rajasthan) during rabi season of 2019-20. Result: The results revealed that significantly higher yield attributes and yield viz. pods plant-1 and 100-grain weight were produced under the RSG-974, while higher number of seeds pod-1 as well as seed, stover and biomass yield along with higher zinc contents and their uptakes were noticed in chickpea variety GNG-1581 under application of ZnSO4 @ 25 kg ha-1 (SA) + 0.5% FeSO4 (FA).