EFFECT OF SOIL AND FOLIAR APPLIED MICRONUTRIENT CONSORTIA ON ALLEVIATION OF MICRONUTRIENT DEFICIENCY IN KINNOW (CITRUS NOBLIS X CITRUS DELICIOSA)

The deficiency of micronutrients in citrus orchards is a big issue. It not only deteriorates the fruit quality, buts also plays a major role in decreasing the yield. High soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), CaCO3, and low organic matter contents are some of the vital factors which usually decrease the uptake of applied micronutrients in plants. On the other hand, foliar application of micronutrients is considered as one of the meaningful approaches to overcome this issue; it not only increases nutrient uptake, but also decreases the application rate of inorganic fertilizer. Scientists have worked on soil and foliar application of micronutrients to plants, but limited literature is available on the effect of micronutrient consortia on citrus. Due to this reason, the current study was conducted to explore the effectiveness of application of micronutrient consortia to alleviate micronutrient deficiency in citrus. There were 10 treatments applied with 4 replications following a randomized complete block design. Results showed that application of T10 as soil (T1 +250 g ZnSO4 +150 g borax + 550 g FeSO4 +200 g CuSO4 + 350 g MnSO4/plant) and foliar application (T1 + 0.6% ZnSO4 + 0.5% boric acid + 0.6% FeSO4 + 0.5% CuSO4 + 0.5%MnSO4). remained significantly best compared to all other treatments for improving fruit weight, vertical diameter, horizontal diameter, number of seeds, and seed weight in citrus. A significant enhancement in the yield of citrus due to T10 as soil and foliar application validated the effectiveness of the treatment compared to the control. In conclusion, growers are recommended to apply T10 as soil (T1 +250 g ZnSO4 +150 g borax + 550 g FeSO4 +200 g CuSO4 + 350 g MnSO4/plant) and foliar application (T1 + 0.6% ZnSO4 + 0.5% boric acid + 0.6% FeSO4 + 0.5% CuSO4 + 0.5%MnSO4) for the improvement of citrus growth and yield.