~ 1330 ~  International Journal of Chemical Studies 2017; 5(6): 1330-1335                     P-ISSN: 2349–8528  E-ISSN: 2321–4902 IJCS 2017; 5(6): 1330-1335 © 2017 IJCS Received: 04-09-2017 Accepted: 05-10-2017   Anand Pathak Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Sciences, Raja Balwant Singh College, Bichpuri, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India Akhil Gupta (A). Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, GBPUA&T, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India (B). Pollution Ecology Research Laboratory, Department of Botany, Hindu College Moradabad, University of Rohilkhand, Uttar Pradesh, India Apoorv Tiwari (A). Department of Molecular Biology & Genetic Engineering, CBSH, GBPUA&T, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India (B). Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHUATS), Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India Vipin Kumar Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Sciences, Raja Balwant Singh College, Bichpuri, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India Correspondence Anand Pathak Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Sciences, Raja Balwant Singh College, Bichpuri, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India Efficacy of Zinc with and without FYM on uptake of Sulphur in pearl millet-wheat cropping system in sandy loam light textured soils Anand Pathak, Akhil Gupta, Apoorv Tiwari and Vipin Kumar Abstract Pearl millet-wheat sequence is traditionally a component of the dry land system, usually grown in soils with depleted in sandy areas of northern India, where deficiency of Zn is a common problem. The yield potential of pearl millet-wheat system has reached a plateau. A field study was carried out on a loamy sand soil of Agra for two years (2008 to 2009) to study the effect of zinc with and without FYM on yield and uptake of sulphur in pearl millet-wheat cropping system. Nine different treatments of zinc doses with and without FYM were applied in the field having pearl millet and wheat cropping sequence to assess the uptake of sulphur and zinc. The changes in sulphur uptake brought about by combined use of FYM and Zn were pronounced and significant in the both years. Highest uptake of sulphur was recorded for the treatment giving higher grain and stover yields. The maximum values of Zn content in grain and stover were noted under 5 t FYM/ha + 10 kg Zn/ha in both crop seasons. When the combined effect of zinc and FYM was applied, an increase in zinc concentration was found significant in both crop seasons. The maximum values of zinc content in wheat grain and straw were recorded under 10 kg Zn/ha and 5 t FYM/ha treatment in both the years of study. The results emphasized the usefulness of integrated use of FYM and Zn on sulphur nutrition of the pearl millet-wheat sequences Keywords: FYM, Sulphur, Zn, Nutrients, Millet, Wheat, Fertilizers Introduction The most fundamental function of sulphur in plant nutrition is that it aids in the biosynthesis of chlorophyll. As of today, sulphur has acquired the status of a strategic element in a balanced fertilization programme where it acts as important essential element as well as catalyst in improving the efficiencies and/or counteracting adverse effects of other elements The application of S up to 30 kg/ha enhanced the average grain yield of maize by 22 per cent over control. The application of Zn upto 5 kg/ha increased the maize yield by 19 per cent over control. On fitting the average grain yield data of two year in to quadratic equation, the optimum dose of sulphur for maize was found to be 34.3 kg/ha for the maximum grain yield of 22.7 g/ha. Similarly the optimum dose for zinc was found to be 7.1 kg /ha giving maximum yields of 29.8 q/ha. Similar trend in yield response of stover was also recorded (Dwivedi et al. 2002) [1] . Green fodder, dry matter and protein yield of oat improved significantly with increasing levels of zinc sulphate at 100% NPK. Zinc sulphate application also improved the uptake of NPK and Zn by oat crop (Verma et al. 2002) [11] . The residual effect of 2.5 ppm Zn was sufficient to obtain the highest grain yield of wheat after both the crops. The third crop of peal millet and cowpea responded significantly upto 20 and 40 ppm residual Zn levels, respectively (Gupta et al.1986) [2] . Application of 6 kg Zn /ha significantly increased all the growth and yield attributes (except test weight) protein content and Zn uptake by wheat over no use of Zn (control). Application of graded levels of zinc upto 9 kg Zn/ha remained at par with 12 kg Zn/ha significantly increased Zn uptake by wheat crop over other levels. Application of 6 kg Zn/ha increased in grain and straw yields by 19.4 and 16.8% over the no use of Zn (control). Application of 60 kg P2O5/ha and 6-9 kg Zn/ha to wheat significantly improved the growth and yield attributes (Jain and Dahama 2006) [3] . With loamy sand soil the application of 5 levels of Zn (0, 1.25, 2.50, 5.0, 10.0 ppm) significantly increased the average dry matter yield of maize shoot from 6.4 to 13.6 and Zn from 9.81 to 12.52 g/pot. The highest yield (14.95 g/pot) was recorded at 10 ppm S and 2.5 ppm Zn. Higher levels of both these nutrient produced low yield probably due to imbalanced nutrient (Kochar et al. 1990) [4] .