The effects of zinc foliar application on the yield and yield components of irrigated wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Khorram Abad, Lorestan province

The effects of zinc foliar application on the yield and yield components of irrigated wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were evaluated in the Research Field of collage of Agriculture, Lorestan University in 2003 – 2004, on the basis of a factorial design in four replicates. Treatment including wheat varieties of Pastor, Chamran, M-75-7(M) and S-75-20 (S) and zinc (as zinc sulfate) amounts of control or 0 (zinc0), 5 (zinc1), 10 (zinc2) and 15 (zinc3) kg.ha-1, foliarly sprayed at tillering and stemming, were tested. Total dry matter, grain yield, number of spike, number of spikelet, number of grain per spike, harvest index, plant height and weight of 1000 grains were determined. The effects of treatments on grain yield were statistically significant at P=0.01, and the maximum (S15) and minimum (M10) corresponding values were 3914.05 and 1478.25 kg.ha-1, respectively. Plant dry matter (PDM) was also significantly affected by different treatments at P=0.01, as the maximum and minimum values were related to treatment S15 and M0, respectively. The effects of different treatments on the number of spike were significantly different at P = 0.01 and the highest and minimum values were related to treatments S10 at 358.8 and M10 at 214.8 m2, respectively. The effects of different treatments on wheat yield components including 1000-grains weight, number of spike and spikelet were significant at P= 0.05. The maximum of 32.17 g (M5) and minimum of 20.44 g (Chamran15) related to the 1000-grain weight were resulted. The maximum and minimum plant height was related to treatments M0 at 80.73 cm and chamran10 at 57.95 cm, respectively. The maximum and minimum harvest index of 75.11 for S15 and 43.18 for M10 was also respectively resulted. Foliar application of zinc can significantly enhance yield and yield components of irrigated wheat, which can have important agricultural and nutritional implications