Exploring the Synergistic Role of Zinc in NPK Fertilization on the Agronomic Performance of Safflower (<i>Carthamus tinctorius</i>)
Safflower is a multipurpose, underutilized annual crop that could be an alternate oilseed crop for normal and marginal lands around the world. Zinc as a nutrient plays a critical role in enzyme activity and nutrient absorption, leading to improved productivity and quality of oilseeds. However, imbal...
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MDPI AG
2024-11-01
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| author | Muhammad Alamgeer Hassan Munir Saddam Hussain Sudeep Adhikari Walid Soufan Jahangir Ahmed Maryam Aslam Saeed Rauf |
| author_facet | Muhammad Alamgeer Hassan Munir Saddam Hussain Sudeep Adhikari Walid Soufan Jahangir Ahmed Maryam Aslam Saeed Rauf |
| author_sort | Muhammad Alamgeer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Safflower is a multipurpose, underutilized annual crop that could be an alternate oilseed crop for normal and marginal lands around the world. Zinc as a nutrient plays a critical role in enzyme activity and nutrient absorption, leading to improved productivity and quality of oilseeds. However, imbalances between NPK and Zn can result in antagonistic interactions, leading to nutrient deficiencies. Therefore, this field experiment at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan, was conducted to explore the synergistic effects of NPK and Zn on safflower growth, yield, and oil content. Safflower accession (UAF-SAFF-100) was treated with ten different combinations of zinc and NPK having different concentrations, i.e., T<sub>0</sub> = control, T<sub>1</sub> = NPK at 40:40:40 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, T<sub>2</sub> = NPK at 50:50:40 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, T<sub>3</sub> = NPK at 60:60:40 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, T<sub>4</sub> = NPK at 70:70:40 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, T<sub>5</sub> = NPK at 80:80:40 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, T<sub>6</sub> = T<sub>1</sub> + zinc at 7.5 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, T<sub>7</sub> = T<sub>2</sub> + zinc at 7.5 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, T<sub>8</sub> = T<sub>3</sub> + zinc at 7.5 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, T<sub>9</sub> = T<sub>4</sub> + zinc at 7.5 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, and T<sub>10</sub> = T<sub>5</sub> + zinc at 7.5 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>. The results indicated that the application of T<sub>9</sub> (NPK @ 70:70:40 kg/ha<sup>−1</sup> + zinc @ 7.5 kg/ha<sup>−1</sup>) showed the most promising results in terms of growth and yield attributes. This treatment significantly improved key metrics such as capitulum diameter, the number of capitula per plant, seed yield, petal yield, and oil content. Thus, this treatment (T<sub>9</sub>) is proposed as an effective strategy for enhancing safflower growth and productivity, particularly in semi-arid regions. This study underscores the importance of optimizing nutrient management to achieve superior crop performance and suggests that tailored NPK and Zn applications can be a promising approach to maximizing safflower yield and oil quality. |
| format | Article |
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| spelling | doaj-art-3c2001cf3d884311b0fda80f9f1ca1cb2025-08-20T02:57:08ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242024-11-011012124310.3390/horticulturae10121243Exploring the Synergistic Role of Zinc in NPK Fertilization on the Agronomic Performance of Safflower (<i>Carthamus tinctorius</i>)Muhammad Alamgeer0Hassan Munir1Saddam Hussain2Sudeep Adhikari3Walid Soufan4Jahangir Ahmed5Maryam Aslam6Saeed Rauf7Department of Agronomy, Tropical Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Homestead, FL 33031, USADepartment of Agronomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, PakistanDepartment of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Tropical Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Homestead, FL 33031, USAPlant Breeding Program, Tropical Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Homestead, FL 33031, USAPlant Production Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaNational Institute of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, PakistanDepartment of Chemistry, Government College Women University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, PakistanDepartment of Plant Breeding and Genetics, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, PakistanSafflower is a multipurpose, underutilized annual crop that could be an alternate oilseed crop for normal and marginal lands around the world. Zinc as a nutrient plays a critical role in enzyme activity and nutrient absorption, leading to improved productivity and quality of oilseeds. However, imbalances between NPK and Zn can result in antagonistic interactions, leading to nutrient deficiencies. Therefore, this field experiment at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan, was conducted to explore the synergistic effects of NPK and Zn on safflower growth, yield, and oil content. Safflower accession (UAF-SAFF-100) was treated with ten different combinations of zinc and NPK having different concentrations, i.e., T<sub>0</sub> = control, T<sub>1</sub> = NPK at 40:40:40 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, T<sub>2</sub> = NPK at 50:50:40 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, T<sub>3</sub> = NPK at 60:60:40 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, T<sub>4</sub> = NPK at 70:70:40 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, T<sub>5</sub> = NPK at 80:80:40 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, T<sub>6</sub> = T<sub>1</sub> + zinc at 7.5 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, T<sub>7</sub> = T<sub>2</sub> + zinc at 7.5 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, T<sub>8</sub> = T<sub>3</sub> + zinc at 7.5 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, T<sub>9</sub> = T<sub>4</sub> + zinc at 7.5 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>, and T<sub>10</sub> = T<sub>5</sub> + zinc at 7.5 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>. The results indicated that the application of T<sub>9</sub> (NPK @ 70:70:40 kg/ha<sup>−1</sup> + zinc @ 7.5 kg/ha<sup>−1</sup>) showed the most promising results in terms of growth and yield attributes. This treatment significantly improved key metrics such as capitulum diameter, the number of capitula per plant, seed yield, petal yield, and oil content. Thus, this treatment (T<sub>9</sub>) is proposed as an effective strategy for enhancing safflower growth and productivity, particularly in semi-arid regions. This study underscores the importance of optimizing nutrient management to achieve superior crop performance and suggests that tailored NPK and Zn applications can be a promising approach to maximizing safflower yield and oil quality.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/10/12/1243oilseedsafflowergrowthoil yieldnitrogenzinc |
| spellingShingle | Muhammad Alamgeer Hassan Munir Saddam Hussain Sudeep Adhikari Walid Soufan Jahangir Ahmed Maryam Aslam Saeed Rauf Exploring the Synergistic Role of Zinc in NPK Fertilization on the Agronomic Performance of Safflower (<i>Carthamus tinctorius</i>) Horticulturae oilseed safflower growth oil yield nitrogen zinc |
| title | Exploring the Synergistic Role of Zinc in NPK Fertilization on the Agronomic Performance of Safflower (<i>Carthamus tinctorius</i>) |
| title_full | Exploring the Synergistic Role of Zinc in NPK Fertilization on the Agronomic Performance of Safflower (<i>Carthamus tinctorius</i>) |
| title_fullStr | Exploring the Synergistic Role of Zinc in NPK Fertilization on the Agronomic Performance of Safflower (<i>Carthamus tinctorius</i>) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring the Synergistic Role of Zinc in NPK Fertilization on the Agronomic Performance of Safflower (<i>Carthamus tinctorius</i>) |
| title_short | Exploring the Synergistic Role of Zinc in NPK Fertilization on the Agronomic Performance of Safflower (<i>Carthamus tinctorius</i>) |
| title_sort | exploring the synergistic role of zinc in npk fertilization on the agronomic performance of safflower i carthamus tinctorius i |
| topic | oilseed safflower growth oil yield nitrogen zinc |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/10/12/1243 |
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