ZINC-COATED UREA IMPROVES PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY OF BASMATI RICE (ORYZA SATIVA L.) UNDER ZINC STRESS CONDITION

A field study conducted for two years (2006 and 2007) at the Research Farm of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India showed that zinc (Zn) fertilization increased yield attributes, grain and straw yield, enhanced Zn concentrations and its uptake and improved kernel quality before and after cooking in basmati rice 'Pusa Sugandh 5'. A 2% Zn-coating with zinc sulfate (ZnSO4 center dot 7H(2)O) was found to be the best but a 2% Zn-coating with zinc oxide (ZnO) was very close to it in terms of grain and straw yield and Zn concentrations in basmati rice grain and straw under Zn stress conditions. Partial factor productivity (PFP) of applied Zn varied from 984-3,387 kg grain kg Zn-1, agronomic efficiency (AE) varied from 212-311 kg grain kg(-1) Zn (applied) and physiological efficiency (PE) of Zn varied from 6,384-17,077 kg grain kg(-1) Zn (absorbed). Thus, adequate Zn fertilization of basmati rice can lead to higher grain yield and Zn-denser grains with improved cooking quality in basmati rices under Zn stress soil conditions.