Effect of Foliar Application of Water Soluble Fertilizers on Growth and Yield of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Abstract

Background: Foliar application or foliar nutrition is a technique of feeding plants by applying liquid fertilizer directly to their leaves. Water soluble fertilizers have been introduced exclusively for foliar feeding and fertilization. There is very little information about the foliar application of water soluble fertilizers. There is need for more research in this field. Therefore, foliar nutrition is being recognized as an important method of fertilization in modern agriculture. The current study aimed to study the effect of foliar application of water soluble fertilizers on growth and yield of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Methods: The field experiment was conducted during rabi 2017-18, 11 different treatments were laid out in a randomized block design on clay loam soil. In the field, the data was collected and analyzed and the final result was concluded. Result: The experiment revealed that the growth attributes such as plant height (60.28 cm), number of primary branches (5.22), number of secondary branches (22.93) and dry matter accumulation (241.61 g) were maximum with 75% RDF + foliar application of 2% DAP + 2% Urea + 2% WSF at 60 and 80 DAS (T10) and minimum in control (T1) at harvest stage. Further, seed yield (24.26 q ha-1), stover yield (31.38 q ha-1) and biological yield (55.65 q ha-1) was maximum with 75% RDF + foliar application of 2% DAP + 2% Urea + 2% WSF at 60 and 80 DAS (T10) and minimum in control (T1).