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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp3 (2026): Climate-Weed Nexus: Innovations for Sustainable Farming (CWIS 2025)

Nano zinc mediated modulation of growth, yield and nutrient partitioning in kharif rice (Oryza sativa L.)

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.13514
Submitted
3 January 2026
Published
04-06-2026

Abstract

Zinc (Zn) deficiency, aggravated by high phosphorus availability, is a major constraint to rice productivity in intensive cropping systems. A field experiment was conducted during the kharif (2022–23) in Kerala, India, to evaluate the effect of nano zinc nutrition on growth, yield formation and macronutrient uptake in rice (Oryza sativa L.). The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design (RBD) with 8 treatments and 3 replications. The plot size was 6 × 4.5 m with a spacing of 20 × 15 cm. The treatments were: T1 - soil application of zinc sulphate (ZnSO4) at 20 kg ha-1, T2 - nutri priming (NP) with nano Zn at 0.05 %, T3 - NP with nano Zn at 0.05 % + foliar spray (FS) with nano Zn at 0.05 % at maximum tillering (MT) stage, T4 - NP with ZnSO4 at 0.5  %, T5 - NP with ZnSO4 at 0.5 % + FS with nano Zn at 0.05 % at MT stage, T6 - FS with Nano Zn at 0.05 % at MT stage and panicle initiation (PI) stage, T7 - FS with ZnSO4 at 0.5 % at MT stage and PI stage, T8 - control (recommended dose of nutrients without application of phosphorous (P) and Zn). Nutri priming with Nano Zn at 0.05 % + FS with nano Zn at 0.05 % at MT stage (T3) resulted in taller plants with higher number of productive tillers. Grain yield was significantly influenced by the treatments and increased by 78.14  % in T3 and 68.72  % in T6 compared to control. Yield enhancement was associated with higher nitrogen (N), P and potassium (K) uptake at both panicle initiation (PI) and harvest under nano Zn treatments. The study revealed that nano Zn nutrition, especially through NP and stage-specific foliar application, effectively enhanced nutrient use efficiency and rice productivity in high phosphorus soils.

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