INFLUENCE OF SULPHUR AND ZINC FERTILIZATION ON YIELD, YIELD COMPONENTS AND QUALITY TRAITS OF SOYBEAN (GLYCINE MAX L.)

Abstract

A pot experiment was carried out using factorial CRBD with four replications during Kharif 2012 to investigate S and Zn application effects on soybean (Glycine max L.) yield, yield attributing traits and quality parameters. The experiment comprised four levels of sulphur (0, 20, 40 and 60 ppm) and zinc (0, 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 ppm). Cultivar PK 1024 was used as the test crop. The results revealed that all these mentioned parameters were significantly affected by the addition of sulphur and zinc doses. Highest grain yield 14.59 and 14.25 g pot^-1 were obtained when S (40 ppm) and Zn (5 ppm) were applied individually. The highest yield (15.30 g pot^-1) and the yield attributes viz; plant height (43.5 cm), branches plant^-1 (6.7), capsule plant^-1 (13.0), grains capsule^-1 (3.2), 100-grain weight (9.96 g) were also obtained for the treatment combination of 40 ppm S and 5 ppm Zn. On the other hand content and uptake of Zn increased up to 40 ppm S and thereafter decreases at 60 ppm S level. Contents of S increased with increase in S doses up to 60 ppm. However the values at 40 and 60 ppm were statistically at par. Zinc content increased up to 20 ppm S and thereafter decreased. Highest protein (38.64%) and oil (21.54%) content was observed due to application of 60 ppm S, while 5 ppm Zn gave the highest protein (38.42%) and oil (20.90%) content of soybean grain. Therefore, it was concluded that application of 60 ppm S and 5 ppm Zn should be used for improvement of yield and quality traits of soybean grain.