Influence of Sulphur and Zinc Levels on Growth, Yield and Quality of Soybean (Glycine max L.)

Abstract

Field experiments were conducted during kharif 2014 and 2015 to study the influences of sulphur and zinc levels on growth, yield and quality of soybean. The experiment comprised five sulphur levels viz. (S0- control, S1- 10 kg S ha-1, S2- 20 kg S ha-1, S3- 30 kg S ha-1 and S4 40 kg S ha-1;) four zinc levels viz. (Zn0- control, Zn1- 10 kg Zn ha-1, Zn2- 20 kg Zn ha-1 and Zn3- 30 kg Zn ha-1). Application of sulphur and zinc increased all the growth and yield attributes of soybean but significant increase up to 40 kg S ha-1 and 30 kg Zn ha-1 were observed in plant height, number of branches plant-1 at all stages, seed yield and protein content in seed of soybean. The zinc level also had significant influence on the number of pods plant-1, number of grains pod-1, pod length, pod weight plant-1, test weight, grain weight plant-1. Highest level (Zn3) i.e. 30 kg Zn ha-1 was found at par with (Zn2) i.e. 20 kg Zn ha-1 during the investigation. Application up to 40 kg S ha-1 and 30 kg Zn ha-1 increased the uptake of sulphur and zinc significantly than control. Therefore, it can be concluded that application of 40 kg S ha-1 and 30 kg Zn ha-1 should be applied for better growth, yield and quality of soybean.