Physio Chemical Response of Appropriate Zinc Application on Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Under Sodic Soil Condition

An experiment was conducted with wheat varieties and zinc application method in sodic soil at Main Experiment Station, N.D.University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Faizabad in Rabi season 2005-06. The specific objective is to identify the economical and effective method of zinc application with reference to growth, yield and quality of wheat under sodic soil condition. Twelve treatment comprised of four methods of zinc application i.e. control and 0.5,1.0, zinc sulphate seed soaking and basal 20 kg ZnS04 ha^-1 and three wheat varieties ( NW1012, PBW343 and Malviya 468) were tested in three replications. Seeds were soaked as per treatment for four hours and dried in shade for 24 hours before sowing. Seeds soaking and basal application with ZnS04 increased plant height, number of tillers plant^-1, chlorophyll content, total soluble sugar and grain yield plant^-1 over control. Overall performance of NW1012 variety of wheat showed superiority over Malviya 468 and PBW 343. Basal application of ZnS04 was found more effective over seed soaking method with respect to yield and quality of wheat under soil condition.