Nutri-fortification of grain Amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus L.) through soil and foliar application of micronutrients

A field experiment entitled “Nutri-fortification of grain amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus L.) through soil and foliar application of micronutrients” was conducted at K block, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru during kharif season of 2022. It was carried out in a RCBD with ten treatments, which was replicated three times and the cultivar used was KBGA-15. The results revealed that, a significant increase in growth parameters was recorded in RDF + soil application of FeSO₄ @ 10 kg ha^-1 + ZnSO₄ @ 15 kg ha^-1 followed by foliar application of ZnSO₄ @ 0.5% and FeSO₄ @ 0.5% at 30 and 60 DAS i.e., plant height (180.5 cm), number of leaves plant^-1 (23.33), leaf area plant^-1 (3280 cm²), total dry matter production plant^-1 (104.8 g). Similarly yield attributes such aspanicle length (56.9 cm), number of fingers panicle^-1 (60.0), length of finger (21.4 cm), grain yield plant^-1 (21.45 g), grain and stover yield (2154 and 6964 kg ha^-1, respectively). Further, the same treatment led to higher net returns (Rs. 1, 37,905 ha^-1) and B: C ratio (4.01). Significantly higher protein and oil content (13.88% and 8.56%, respectively) was recorded with combined application of micronutrients (Fe and Zn) i.e., RDF + soil application of FeSO₄ @ 10 kg ha-1 + ZnSO₄ @ 15 kg ha^-1 followed by foliar application of ZnSO₄ @ 0.5% and FeSO₄ @ 0.5% at 30 and 60 DAS (T9) and it was found to be on par with RDF + soil application of FeSO₄ @ 10 kg ha-1 + ZnSO₄ @ 15 kg ha-1 (13.68% and 8.23%, respectively) and RDF + foliar application of FeSO₄ @ 0.5% & ZnSO₄ @ 0.5% at 30 and 60 DAS (13.54% and 7.85%).