Agronomic Bio-fortification of Zinc Improves the Yield and Quality of Fodder Oat

Oat is an important winter fodder crop grown in large areas all over the world.Oat is a good source of nutrition and energy, but it is poor in zinc.Presently, livestock is suffering from malnutrition due to a deficiency of zinc, which has a greater impact on livestock and ultimately on human health.An easy and cost-effective approach to adding nutrients to plants without altering their genetic makeup is agronomic biofortification.Application of nutrients to oat via bio-fortification may enhance the overall biomass production and quality of fodder.Hence, a field study was performed to understand the impact of bio-fortification with zinc on quality along with biomass production of oats.Treatment comprised of control (No Zn), Zn at 4 kg soil application, Zn at 6 kg soil application, Zn at 8 kg soil application, Zn at 4 kg soil application + 0.5% zinc sulfate as foliar application, Zn at 6 kg soil application + 0.5% zinc sulfate as foliar application and Zn at 8 kg soil application + 0.5% zinc sulfate as foliar application.The study revealed that Zn at 6 kg soil application + 0.5% zinc sulfate foliar application produced maximum plant height (207.7 cm), leaf area index (15.78),crop growth rate (9.1 gm -2 day -1 ), stem diameter (0.073 cm), number of tillers (204), fresh fodder yield (76.6 t•ha -1 ), dry matter yield (32.27 t•ha -1 ), ash contents (10.3%) and plant zinc contents (70.0 ppm).Control treatment produced maximum crude fiber contents (40.70%), acid detergent fiber contents (35.77%), and neutral detergent fiber contents (72.71%).In conclusion, the bio-fortification of zinc not only enhanced the biomass and yield of oat but also increased the availability of zinc in plants.