Effect of zinc phosphorus and sulfur interactions on growth and yield of rice under neutral and alkali soils

Field experiments were conducted to study the interaction of phosphorus, sulfur and zinc on growth and yield of rice in neutral and alkali soils. The treatments consisted of two levels of P2O5 (25, 50 kg/ha), two levels of S (20, 40 kg/ha) and four levels of Zn( 0,5,10, 15 kg/ha) besides an absolute control, thus totaling seventeen treatments. The results revealed significant interactions among P,S and Zn on growth and yield of rice. The growth and yield of rice was less when P, Zn and S were applied at lower rates, but improved with increasing levels of nutrients. However, the highest grain (5216, 4678 kg/ha) and straw yields (6123, 5642 kg/ha) was noticed with application of 50 kg P2O5, 20 kg S and 10 kg Zn /ha in neutral and alkali soils respectively. This was comparable with 50 kg P2O5, 40 kg S and 10 kg Zn /ha. Similar effect was noticed with respect to growth and yield attributes. It is clearly exhibited that in the absence of zinc application, growth and yield of rice is reduced in spite of addition of adequate amounts of P and S. Further, for a given level of P and S, addition of highest amount of Zn (15 kg/ha) reduced the growth and yield of rice.