Effect of Soil Zinc and Boron on the Yield and Uptake of Wheat in an Acid Soil of West Bengal, India

The production of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), an important staple food in the world, is often restricted due to micronutrients status in soil. Micronutrient deficiency in soil including boron (B) and zinc (Zn) is quite widespread in Asian countries including India due to prevalent soil and environmental conditions. A field experiment was conducted following randomized complete block design over a two-year period in an acid soil of Terai region of West Bengal to study the effect of Zn and Bon the yield and uptake of nutrients by wheat. The highest grain yield (4.4 tha-1) was obtained after the combined application of Zn and B over that of other treatment combinations (variable rates of B and Zn application with nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K)) or control (no NPK, B and Zn). Application of one micronutrient might have accelerated the uptake of other micro- and macro-nutrients (such as B, Zn, N, P and K) resulting in higher yield. A positive correlation was observed between the grain yield and the uptake of different nutrients with the weakest with Zn. An enhancement of the nutrients in soils was also observed at the harvest. High response from a combined application of B and Zn clearly demonstrated the necessity of micronutrients for improving production in the studied regions with acid soils. Therefore, an application of a mixture of micronutrients is recommended over a single micronutrient for the acid soil regions of West Bengal in order to get a better response from the applied nutrient sources and thus the production.