Effect of zinc sulphate application and the cyclic incorporation of cereal straw on yields, the tissue concentration and uptake of Zn by crops and availability of Zn in soil under rice–wheat rotation

Prakash Chandra Srivastva,Rama Dwivedi

doi:10.1007/s40093-014-0053-3

Abstract

Soil incorporation of cereal straw to avoid burning and air pollution may influence the availability of Zn, a critical micronutrient in cereal production. Field experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of zinc sulphate application and the cyclic incorporation of cereal straw on the yields, tissue concentration and uptake of Zn by rice and wheat crops and availability of Zn in soil. Application of 25 kg ZnSO4 ha−1 to I year rice crop increased the grain yields of rice by 24.3 and 56.3 % over control during I and II year, respectively. Application of 25 kg ZnSO4 ha−1 to I year rice crop + cyclic incorporation of 1.5 t straw ha−1 increased the grain yields of rice by 21.4 and 87.4 % over control during I and II year, respectively. In I year, the grain yield of wheat crop was not significantly influenced by the different treatments while in II year the highest wheat grain yield was recorded with 25 kg ZnSO4 ha−1 to I year rice crop + cyclic incorporation of 6.0 t cereal straw ha−1. Application of 25 kg ZnSO4 ha−1 to I year rice + cyclic incorporation of 1.5 t straw ha−1 resulted in a significant increase in the concentration of Zn in the plant tissues of both rice and wheat crops. The cyclic incorporation of 1.5–3.0 t cereal straw ha−1 maintained better availability of ZnSO4 applied to I year rice crop to the subsequently grown crops. Soil application of 25 kg ZnSO4 along with incorporation of 1.5 t cereal straw ha−1 prior to I year rice transplanting followed by cyclic incorporation of cereal straw in subsequent crops ensures higher availability of Zn in soil and higher yields in rice–wheat rotation.

Highlights

Zinc deficiency is a worldwide problem in crop production and a serious problem, especially in rice croplands of Asia (Tisdale et al 1997)
Background Soil incorporation of cereal straw to avoid burning and air pollution may influence the availability of Zn, a critical micronutrient in cereal production
The residual effect of 25.00 kg ZnSO4 ha-1 applied to I year rice crop in combination with the cyclic incorporation of 1.5 t straw ha-1 increased the Zn concentration in the flag leaves of II year wheat crop significantly to 31.60 mg Zn kg-1 which was 40.1 % higher over control (22.55 mg Zn kg-1)

Summary

Introduction

Zinc deficiency is a worldwide problem in crop production and a serious problem, especially in rice croplands of Asia (Tisdale et al 1997). Soil application of 25.0–50.0 zinc sulphate heptahydrate ha-1 is done to correct the deficiency; the availability of soil applied Zn is very poor and declines with time (Srivastava et al 2008). The use of industrial wastes as a substitute of organic manure is limited due to the possible presence of toxic organic and inorganic constituents in these materials. This leaves recycling of crop residues as one of the easiest option to ensure the conservation of soil organic matter and help reducing the dependence on chemical fertilizers. Rice–wheat cropping system is one of the most widely practiced system covering about 12 million ha area in India alone

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Materials and methods

Results and discussion

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Conclusions

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