AUTHOR=Baral Kirttiranjan , Shivay Yashbir Singh , Prasanna Radha , Kumar Dinesh , Srinivasarao Cherukumalli , Mandi Sunil , Nayak Somanath , Reddy Kadapa Sreenivasa 

TITLE=Enhancing physiological metrics, yield, zinc bioavailability, and economic viability of Basmati rice through nano zinc fertilization and summer green manuring in semi–arid South Asian ecosystem

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1283588

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2023.1283588

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=During the summer and rainy seasons (April-October) of 2020 and 2021, two consecutive field experiments were conducted at the research farm of the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi, India. In this study, we examined the effects of summer green manuring crops (GM) and a variety of zinc fertilizers (ZnF) on Basmati rice (Oryza sativa L.) growth, physiological development, yield response, zinc nutrition and economic returns. A combination of GM residues and nano zinc fertilization helped significantly enhance Basmati rice's growth and its physiological development.Following the incorporation of Sesbania aculeata (Sesbania), successive Basmati rice physiological parameters were significantly improved, as well as grain, straw, biological yields and harvest index as well as economic returns. The highest Zn content of 15.1 mg kg -1 and the lowest of 11.8 mg kg -1 in milled rice grain were recorded in Sesbania green manuring (G2) and control i.e., in the fallow (G1), respectively. Coating onto urea with 0.2% nano zinc oxide (NZnCU) was observed to be more effective than other zinc sources in terms of growth parameters, yield attributes, zinc nutrition, and grain and straw yields for succeeding Basmati rice crops; however, the effects were comparable to those of bulk zinc-coated urea (BZnCU) of 1%. The highest Zn content of 15.1 mg kg -1 was recorded with the application of 1% bulk BZnCU and the lowest of 11.96 mg kg -1 with the application of 5 kg Zn ha -1 as soil-applied through bulk ZnO in the milled rice grain. Application of 1% bulk BZnCU led to a 26.25% increase in Zn content of milled rice grain compared to 5 kg Zn ha -1 as soil-applied through bulk ZnO.As a result, the combination of inclusion of Sesbania aculeata (Sesbania) residue and either 1% bulk BZnCU or 0.2% NZnCU was identified as the most effective treatment, for Basmati rice growth and physiological development. A combination of nano Zn fertilization in conjunction with the incorporation of green manure can be advocated for better growth, physiological performance, zinc dense grains, and higher profitability of Basmati rice for farmers and consumers.