Effect of Foliar Application of Nano and Conventional Zinc Oxide and Silica Fertilizers on Yield and Yield Components of Millet in Deficit Irrigation Conditions

In order to study the effect of foliar application of nano and conventional zinc oxide and silica fertilizers on yield and yield components of millet Pishhang cultivar, an experiment was conducted in 2017 in the research farm of Birjand branch, Islamic Azad University, Birjand as split plots based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. Two levels of irrigation (irrigation based on 50% and 100% of water requirement by FAO method) were as the main plots. Also seven treatment of fertilizer foliar application (no foliar application (control), zinc oxide, silica oxide, nano zinc oxide, nano Silica, zinc oxide + silica and nano-zinc + nano-silica) were as the sub-plots. The results showed that deficit irrigation reduced plant height (36.2%), panicle length (21.2%), stomata conductance (14.2%), number of panicles per square meter (39.6%), number of seeds per panicle (33%), grain yield (62.8%), biological yield (38.4%) and harvest index (45.7%) compared to the control (100% water requirement). The effect of fertilizer foliar application was significant on chlorophyll index, stomata conductance, number of panicles per square meter, grain yield and biological yield. The highest grain yield was obtained from the application of common zinc oxide, nano-silica and zinc oxide+silica, which increased by 27.7, 26.8 and 15.9%, respectively, compared to the control. Also, the highest biological yield was obtained from the application of zinc + silica, ordinary zinc and nano-silica, which had an increase of 16.3%, 8.8% and 6.6%, respectively, compared to the control. Based on the results of this experiment, in order to preserve the environment and achieve maximum grain yield of millet in Birjand region, optimal irrigation and foliar application of nano-silica can be used.