Effect of Zinc and Vermicompost Application on Nutrient Availability in Soil Growth and Yield of Urdbean

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted to assess effect of zinc and vermicompost on nutrient availability in soil and growth at Crop Research Centre of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture & Technology, Meerut (U.P.), during kharif season of 2020. In the seven treatments consistent application of zinc and vermicompost viz., Control, RDF (20:40), RDF + VC @ 1.0 t ha-1, RDF + Zinc Sulphate @ 10 kg ha-1, RDF + VC @ 2.0 t ha-1, RDF + Zinc Sulphate @ 20 kg ha-1 and RDF + VC @ 1.0 t ha-1 + Zinc Sulphate @ 10 kg ha-1 were tested in RBD with three replications. Shekhar-2 was grown as a test variety. The results revealed that the combined application of zinc and vermicompost exhibited significant influence on the growth, yield attributes and yields of urdbean as compared to control during year of experimentation. Significant improvement in growth parameters viz. plant height, number of branches plant-1, number of trifoliate leaf plant-1, dry matter accumulation (g plant-1), number of root nodules plant-1, dry weight of nodules (mg plant-1), protein content, 1000-grain weight, nutrient content and grain yield was recorded with the application of RDF + VC @ 1.0 t ha-1 + Zinc Sulphate @ 10 kg ha-1, which established its superiority over rest of the zinc and vermicompost treatments. The total nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and zinc uptake (99.05, 16.68, 64.03, kg ha-1 and 75.35 g ha-1 respectively) by urdbean crop was also highest with the application of RDF + VC @ 1.0 t ha-1 + Zinc Sulphate @ 10 kg ha-1 and 91.72 and 42.05% increase in grains and straw yield of urdbean was recorded in the same treatment. The application of RDF + VC @ 1.0 t ha-1 + Zinc Sulphate @ 10 kg ha-1 resulted in higher protein yield (289.35 kg ha-1). Thus the application of RDF + VC @ 1.0 t ha-1 + Zinc Sulphate @ 10 kg ha-1 was found better for sustainability of urdbean