Shamsa Kanwal

Zinc Requirement of Maize Cultivars: on Alkaline Calcareous Soils Shamsa Kanwal

Zinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient which plays a critical role in biological systems including plants, animals and human beings. Widespread occurrence of Zn deficiency in human beings is correlated well with the low levels of Zn intake. Cereals are widely used as staple food crops which are generally grown on Zn deficient soils. Hence people consuming these cereal based diets suffer from Zn deficiency. Maize is an important cereal crop which serves mankind by proving food, feed and fiber. However, it is highly susceptible to Zn deficiency in soil. In the present study, different organic sources were also employed along with synthetic fertilizer to combat Zn deficiency in maize crop. Nevertheless, Zn availability to growing crop is also affected by a number of soil, plant and environmental factors. Application of Zn fertilizers to maize crop not only enhances its production potential but also by increase in Zn content in the maize grain would contribute to alleviate Zn deficiency problem in human beings.