G. Tamil Amutham* Department of Agronomy, Agriculture College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore- 641003 (Tamil Nadu), India R. Karthikeyan Department of Agronomy, Agriculture College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore- 641003 (Tamil Nadu), India N. Thavaprakaash Department of Agronomy, Agriculture College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore- 641003 (Tamil Nadu), India C. Bharathi Department Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Agriculture College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore- 641003 (Tamil Nadu), India *Corresponding author. Email: tamilhasina95@gmail.com Article Info https://doi.org/10.31018/ jans.v13iSI.2804 Received: March 22, 2021 Revised: May 14, 2021 Accepted: June 3, 2021 This work is licensed under Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). © : Author (s). Publishing rights @ ANSF. ISSN : 0974-9411 (Print), 2231-5209 (Online) journals.ansfoundation.org Research Article INTRODUCTION Maize (Zea mays L.) is popularly called as ‘Queen of cereals’ and ‘miracle crop’ because of its greater yield potential. A novelty of maize is cultivation predominant- ly for vegetable purpose as ‘babycorn’. Babycorn is typically a maize ear produced from regular corn plants which are harvested earlier, particularly when the silks have the size of 1-3 cm (Thavaprakaash et al., 2005). Babycorn is the safest vegetable to eat directly as it is (Kawatra and Sehgal, 2007). It has a high nutritive val- ue and its nutritional quality is superior to some of the high priced vegetables such as tomato, cucumber, cab- bage and cauliflower (Yodpet, 1979). Zinc (Zn) is one of the foremost trace elements re- quired in minimum concentrations for healthy growth and development of plants and humans. In plants, zinc plays a vital role in pollen formation, enzyme activation, healthy root structure, detoxification of free radicals, resistance to certain pathogens (Peck and Mcdonald, 2010). In human, Zn has an essential role in the regula- tion of the immune system, neuron sensory functions and reproductive organs (Hershfinkel et al., 2007). In the world, nearly 50 percent (%) of cereal have been growing in low Zn status soil (Graham and Welch, 2008). Zinc deficiency in plants affects the crop quality and causes Zn deficiency in human diet (Bagci et al., 2007). In Asia, about 2.50 billion people were suffered Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of agronomic biofortification with zinc on yield, nutritional quality, nutri- ent uptake and economics of babycorn under irrigated condition. The observations on yield v iz., green cob yield, babycorn yield and green fodder yield and quality parameters (crude protein, total soluble sugars, starch and Zn content) were recorded at harvest stage. The nutrient uptake was analysed at different growth stages and economic indices viz., the total cost of cultiva- tion, gross return, net return and benefit cost ratio were worked out for various zinc fertilization treatments. Increased green cob yield and babycorn yield was recorded higher in soil application of zinc sulphate @ 37.5 kg ha -1 along with a foliar spray of 1.0 % on 20 and 40 DAS. Quality parameters of babycorn viz., crude protein, total soluble sugars, starch and Zn content in corn were significantly increased with soil application of ZnSO 4 @ 37.5 kg ha -1 along with a foliar spray of 0.5% at 20 and 40 DAS that recorded higher values of these quality characters. Plant nutrient uptake of N, K and Zn in babycorn was significantly in- creased with the application of ZnSO 4 @ 37.5 kg ha -1 in soil with foliar spray of 0.5% at 20 and 40 DAS. Higher net monetary returns and B: C ratio were obtained with application of ZnSO 4 @ 37.5 kg ha -1 in soil with foliar spray @ 0.5% on 20 and 40 DAS. Keywords: Babycorn hybrid G-5414, Green cob yield, Zinc uptake, Zinc biofortification How to Cite Amutham, G. T. et al. (2021). Journal of Applied and Natural Science, 13 (SI), 80 - 85. https://doi.org/10.31018/jans.v13iSI.2804