Influence of Zn, B and S on the yield and quality of groundnut (<italic>Arachis Hypogea</italic> L.)

Abstract

The effect of zinc (Zn), boron (B) and sulphur (S) on the yield and quality of groundnut in a field experiment with three levels of Zn (0, 5, 10 kg Zn ha<sup>−1</sup> as Zn-EDTA as basal), two levels of B (0 and 0.25% boric acid as foliar spray) and three levels of S (0, 25, 50 kg S ha<sup>−1</sup>as CaSO<sub>4</sub>.2H<sub>2</sub>O) in a factorial RBD were studied. Basal application of Zn @ 5 and 10 kg ha<sup><sup></sup>1</sup> caused an increase in nut yield by 3.7% and 28.3% respectively over control, whereas, application of S @ 25 and 50 kg ha<sup>−1</sup> increased the nut yield by 38.3% and 56.6% respectively over control. Conjoint application of Zn @ 10 kg ha<sup>−1</sup> and S @ 50 kg ha<sup>−1</sup> caused an increase in nut yield up to 73.4% over the control. Results, therefore, revealed that conjoint effect of S and Zn towards nut yield was more effective than that of B application. Application of Zn, S and B significantly increased their nutrient uptake in nuts. On an average, S, Zn and B uptake by groundnut ranged from 11.4 to 21.0 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, 0.14 to 0.40 kg ha<sup>−1</sup> and 0.12 to 0.25 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, respectively. Integrated mode of application of Zn, B and S showed a positive interaction as yield increase with their uptake in groundnut. Oil content in nuts ranged from 45.3 to 54.4%, while iodine value ranged from 97.8 to 90.5%. Application of S and Zn significantly increased the oil content, while it significantly decreased the iodine value in groundnut. So, application of micronutrients <italic>viz</italic>. Zn and B as well as S fertilization could be a useful strategy not only to increase the yield but also the quality of groundnut.