Technological advancements can help increase micronutrient use efficiency to sustain crop production. Some methods discussed include fortified fertilizers, chelates, nanofertilizers, genetic manipulation, and precision agriculture using sensors. Research findings showed that foliar spray of boron and zinc increased yields of cauliflower and pumpkin compared to soil application alone. Zinc content in wheat grains also increased with combined soil and foliar zinc application compared to soil application or no zinc. Advancements can help address micronutrient deficiencies and improve crop nutrition and yields.

1. TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT IN INCREASING MICRONUTRIENTS USE
EFFICIENCY FOR SUSTAINING CROP PRODUCTION
Credit Seminar- (Soils- 591)
ADVISOR,- PRESENTED BY,-
Dr. R. K. Nayak Sairendri Mishra
Associate Professor Adm No.-191222506
MSc.(Ag) 2nd year
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry
College of Agriculture, OUAT, BHUBANESWAR
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2. OVERVIEW
• Introduction
• Functions of micronutrients
• Deficiency symptoms
• Status of micronutrients in Indian soil
• Nutrient use efficiency
• Soil factors affecting micronutrient availability
• Correct way of application of fertilizers
• Forms and formulations for boosting micronutrient use
• Research findings
• Future thrust areas
• Conclusion
• References
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3. INTRODUCTION
“To feed our people
we must first feed our soil.”
- Olusegun Obasanjo
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•Ensurance of food and nutritional security while
maintaining the quality of environment is one of the
major global concerns.
•An explosion in the world population is exerting
tremendous pressure on the scientific community,
planners, policymakers as well as farmers to meet the
ever - increasing food demand.
UN: (2015) &Fertilizers Euro (2019)

4. NUTRIENTS
• Nutrients can be defined as any
chemical compound required for
growth and development of any
organism.
• Nutrients serve as building blocks
of cellular structures and also as fuel
sources to carry out energy driven
processes.
• Regulate chemical processes in
living organisms.
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5.  Micronutrient can be defined as an element required in trace amounts (<100 ppm) for normal
growth and development of living organisms.
• These include Fe(Iron) ,Cu(Copper) , Zn(Zinc),
Mn(Manganese) ,Ni(Nickel) , B(Boron) ,
Mo(Molybdenum) and Cl(Chlorine).
NUE- 1-2%
They are subdivided into two category as follows:
CATIONS
 Iron,Manganese,Zinc,Copper
and Nickel
ANIONS
 Boron, Molybdenum and
Chlorine
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6. 28 July 2021 6
• Zinc
• Manganese
Enzyme
activator
• Iron
• Copper
• Manganese
• Molybdenum
Redox
reagent
According to functional role based classification micronutrients are
divided into following

7. [K.Nijara,2017] 7
28 July 2021

8. 28 July 2021 8

9. Causes of
deficiency
Deficienc
y in soil
Antagonistic
effect of
other
nutrients
Low organic
matter
Upland
conditions
Heavy
Rainfall
Intensive
cultivation
Removal
without
supplement
ation
Leaching
and erosion
losses of
nutrients
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10. A. BORON DEFICIENCY IN CORN
C. MANGANESE DEFICIENCY IN
SOYBEAN
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Zn deficiency in Maize
Mo deficiency in cauliflower B deficiency in papaya

11. CONTINUED…
IRON DEFICIENCY IN
WHEAT
KHAIRA DISEASE DUE
TO ZINC DEFICIENCY
IN RICE
CHLORIDE
DEFICIENCY IN
WHEAT
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Mn DEFICIENCY IN BITTER
GOURD
Cu DEFICIENCY IN RICE

12. STATUS OF MICRONUTRIENTS IN INDIAN SOIL
Shukla et al.(2017) Shukla et al.(2018)
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13. 13
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STATUS OF MICRONUTRIENTS IN ODISHA SOIL
AICRP on Micronutrients, BBSR

14. CONTINUED…
28 July 2021 14
AICRP on Micronutrients, BBSR

15. Percentage use of micronutrient fertilizers in
India
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16. NUTRIENT USE EFFICIENCY
•Overall NUE in plant is a function of
capacity of soil to supply adequate levels of
nutrients, and ability of plant to acquire,
transport in roots and shoot and to
remobilize to other parts of the plant.
•Plants interaction with environmental
factors such as solar radiation, rainfall,
temperature and their response to diseases,
insects and allelopathy and root microbes
have a great influence on NUE in plants.
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17. SOIL FACTORS AFFECTING MICRONUTRIENT AVAILABILITY
FACTORS
SOIL
TEXTURE
TOTAL CONTENT IN SOIL
NUTRIENT
INTERACTION
Alloway et al. (2008)
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18. CORRECT WAY OF APPLYING FERTILIZERS
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19. METHOD OF APPLICATION
A. SOIL APPLICATION
•The most common method of micronutrient application
for crops is soil application.
• Both granular and fluid NPK fertilizers are commonly
used as carriers of micronutrients.
•Micronutrients with mixed fertilizers is a convenient
method of application, and allows more uniform
distribution with conventional application equipment.
• Coating powdered micronutrients onto granular NPK
fertilizers decreases the possibility of segregation.
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20. B. FOLIAR APPLICATION
Foliar application of nutrients supplements
soil fertilization
The most important use of foliar sprays has
been in the application of micronutrients
Foliar fertilizers can provide the plant nutrient
at critical stages of plant growth.
It is rapid in action as compared to soil
application and is generally devoid of any kind
of unwanted losses.
Foliar feeding is a technique of feeding plants
by applying liquid fertilizers directly to the
leaves.
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21. C. FERTIGATION
A. Fertigation is a method of fertilizer
application in which fertilizer is
incorporated within the irrigation water by
the drip system.
B. In this system fertilizer solution is
distributed evenly in irrigation.
C. The availability of nutrients is very high
therefore the efficiency is more.
D. By this method, fertilizer use efficiency is
increased from 80 to 90 per cent.
E. Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, Mo could be used as
micro nutrients in drip fertigation.
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22. D. SEED PRIMING/SEED COATING
• Seeds may be treated with micronutrients
either by soaking in nutrient solution of a
specific concentration for a specific duration
(seed priming) or by coating with
micronutrients.
•Primed seeds usually have better and more
synchronized germination (Farooq et al., 2009)
owing simply to less imbibition time and build-
up of germination-enhancing metabolites .
•Seed treatment, by seed priming or seed
coating, seems pragmatic, inexpensive and an
easy method of micronutrient delivery .
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23. FORMS OR FORMULATIONS FOR BOOSTING MICRONUTRIENT USE
CHELATES
MICRO-ENCAPSULATION
FORTIFIED/COATED FERTILIZERS
GENETIC MANIPULATION
CUSTOMIZED FERTILIZERS
ORGANIC MATRIX
FRITTED/SLOW RELEASE FERTILIZER
BIOFORTIFICATION
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NANOFERTILIZER
PRECISION AGRICULTURE
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

24. CHELATES
• A chelate is a complex organic molecule that surrounds the
nutrient ion.
•Chelates may increase the solubility and availability of micro
nutrients by increasing the solution concentration.
•Some commonly used chelating agents are : EDTA
(Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid), HEDTA(Hydroxyethylene
diaminetriacetic acid), DTPA (Diethylene triamine
pentaacetic acid).
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25. MICRO-ENCAPSULATION
MICRO- ENCAPSULATION PROCESS
ADVANTAGES
• Enhancement of the contact
surface for absorption and thus,
increase in bioavailability.
• Low cost of production
• Biodegradable in
nature.
Microencapsulation is a process by which we apply a protective coating called a
matrix around a small particle called the core or active.
PROPERTIES
• RELEASE
PARAMETERS
•FLAVOUR
MASKING
•PRECISION
•EASY HANDLING
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26. NANOFERTILIZER
•Nano fertilizer is a product that
supplies nutrient to the crop
encapsulated within a nanoparticle.
Three ways of encapsulation:
•The nutrient can be encapsulated inside
nano materials.
• Coated within protective polymer
film.
•Delivered as particles or dimension of
nanoscale dimensions.
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27. FORTIFIED/COATED FERTILIZERS
• Fortified fertilizers are formed by
combining conventional fertilizers
with one or more micronutrients.
•The use of fortified fertilizers helps
in the uniform application of
micronutrient fertilizers in
small amounts, avoiding the cost of
additional operation of soil
placement, broadcasting or
spraying.
•There are 26 approved
formulations of fortified fertilizers,
Zincated urea (2% Zn) and
boronated SSP (1.2% B) being the
most important ones.
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28. CUSTOMIZED FERTILIZER
•These forms of fertilizers are considered as the
best available option to correct site specific
multi-nutrient deficiencies of soils so as to
attain the maximum crop production through
improved nutrient use efficiency.
• The government of India has notified around
34 customized fertilizers for 100 districts of
certain states like Andhra Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand,
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka for crops like rice,
wheat, sugarcane, chilli etc.
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29. ORGANIC MATRIX
•Organic matrix allows the slow release of
nutrients.
•The product is homogenous and does not
require any coating. The product includes an
(organic matrix), which has both positive and
negative charges, and holds cations like
ammonium, potassium, zinc and ferrous, and
anions like sulphate and phosphorous.
•The binding of nutrients to the organic matrix
slows down the reactions of nutrients with the
soil.
• Then, soil microbes begin to break the
matrices and nutrients are gradually released
for plants’ uptake.
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30. FRITTED/ SLOW RELEASE FERTILIZER
• Frits are produced by fusing one or more
powdered micronutrients sources with silicates
in a furnace to produce vitrified homogenous
material that is ground into a powder.
•These products were developed to be used on
coarse-textured soils in high rainfall areas
where leaching is a problem.
•Fritted Trace Elements allow nutrients to be
delivered steadily over a long period of time,
and without much danger of overdose.
•Some examples are : Boron Glass frits , Boron
phosphate.
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31. GENETIC MANIPULATION
• Great progress has been made in breeding
nutrient-efficient crops by molecularly
engineering root traits desirable for
efficient acquisition of nutrients from soil,
transporters for uptake, redistribution and
homeostasis of nutrients, and enzymes for
efficient assimilation.
• It improve the NUE by engineering root
growth, nutrient transporter manipulation
and manipulating regulatory and
transcription factors.
Wan et al.(2017)
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32. HARVEST PLUS
•Harvest Plus is developing and
promoting new, more nutritious
varieties of staple food crops with
higher amounts of vitamin A, iron or
zinc—three of the micronutrients
identified by the World Health
Organization as most lacking in diets
globally by the process of
biofortification.
•Biofortified zinc wheat varieties-
WB-02
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33. PRECISION AGRICULTURE
REMOTE SENSING AND GIS TECHNOLOGIES
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34. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
• The use of Artificial Intelligence in agriculture helps the farmers to understand the data insights such as
temperature, precipitation, wind speed , solar radiation etc.
• A German-based tech start-up PEAT has developed an AI-based application called Plantix that can identify
the nutrient deficiencies in soil by which farmers can also get an idea to use fertilizer which helps to improve
harvest quality.
•This app uses image recognition-based technology.
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35. 35
28 July 2021
Research findings

36. 36
28 July 2021
Treatments Gross yield (q/ha) Percentage increase
over control
Percentage increase or
decrease over soil
application
T1-control 227.54 - -27.4
T2-Soil Application
(1kg/ha)
313.52 37.8 -
T3-FS 0.5% once 309.72 36.1 -1.2
T4-FS 0.75% once 298.89 31.4 -4.7
T5-FS 0.5% twice 326.99 43.7 4.3
T6-FS 0.75% twice 289.81 27.4 -7.6
Effect of soil and foliar application of boron on gross yield of
cauliflower
AICRP on Micronutrients, BBSR (2018-19)
Sandy loam (Inceptisols)
Acidic pH-5.21

37. Effect of ZnSO4 foliar spray on yield of pumpkin
28 July 2021 37
Treatments Weight
(kg/vine)
No. of fruits
per vine
Yield
(ton/ha)
T1 – control 1.50 1.10 17.20
T2 –soil application of 2.5kg ZnSO4/ha 5.50 2.14 22.43
T3 –RDF+0.5% ZnSO4 FS once 3.62 1.55 19.43
T4- RDF+0.75% ZnSO4 FS once 3.85 1.60 19.60
T5 -RDF+0.5% ZnSO4 FS twice 5.32 2.10 22.36
T6 - RDF+0.75% ZnSO4 FS twice 4.45 1.98 21.63
T7 -RDF+0.5% ZnSO4 FS thrice 6.78 2.24 23.16
T8 - RDF+0.75% ZnSO4 FS thrice 3.22 1.46 19.20
Sandy loam (Inceptisols)
Acidic pH-5.21
AICRP on Micronutrients, BBSR (2018-19)

38. 38
Effect of different zinc levels on grain Zn content (mg/kg dry weight) in different
genotypes of wheat (2009–2010)
Improving nutritional quality of wheat through soil
and foliar zinc application
Genotypes Grain Zn content (mg/kg dry weight)
2009 2010
Zn0 Zn20 Zn20 + F Zn0 Zn20 Zn20 + F
UP262 17.23 20.0 30.77 18.57 19.07 34.37
UP2338 20.03 22.7 32.83 18.97 24.43 36.90
UP2382 18.37 31.27 36.90 22.87 26.53 37.57
UP2572 10.53 18.97 28.97 22.57 32.47 40.47
UP2554 25.10 34.13 42.57 23.37 29.73 30.93
UP2584 14.87 19.40 25.87 20.57 24.03 32.23
PBW343 11.57 18.97 25.13 22.00 31.23 34.73
PBW550 16.20 25.10 36.71 22.27 25.77 38.07
PBW175 16.17 17.70 26.23 24.23 26.83 33.57
PBW590 14.63 25.40 36.40 20.20 21.93 35.70
SeM ± CD SeM ± CD
T 0.34 1.31 0.70 2.75
V 0.81 2.29 0.52 1.47
[Bharti et al.,2013]
• pH= 7.0, Texture- Loam , Zn0= 0 kg ZnSO4/ha , Zn20= 20 kg ZnSO4/ha and Zn20 + F= 20 kg ZnSO4/ha + foliar spray of 0.5% solution
of ZnSO4
• Foliar spray at max. tillering stage, Initial soil Zn status= 0.42ppm (deficient)
*more Zn uptake, accumulation, remobilisation, allocation to grains.

39. 18 May 2019 39
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
GENOTYPES→
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
GENOTYPES→
Figure 1. Effect of different Zn levels on methionine content [2009–2010] and
2010–2011] in dry weight of grains of different genotypes of wheat
(Bharti et al, 2013)
(2009-2010) (2010-2011)
• (vertical bars indicate ± SD)
• Genotypes- 1.UP262 , 2. UP2338, 3. UP2382, 4.UP2572, 5.UP2554, 6.UP2584,7.PBW343, 8.PBW550,
9.PBW175, 10.PBW590
*Zn, cofactor, RNA pol, polymerisation of mRNA encoding amino acids

40. 40
Effect of levels of zinc, iron and manganese application on yield and quality traits of aromatic rice cv.
HUBR 2-1
Micronutrient fortification in crop to enhance
growth, yield and quality of aromatic rice
Treatment Grain
Yield
(q/ha)
Hulling
(%)
Milling (%) Head Rice
Recovery
(%)
Kernal
length
(mm)
Gross return
(Rs./ha)
Net return
(Rs./ha)
B:C
ratio
Zn levels(kg ha-1)
Control 45.81 75.58 61.92 63.14 5.94 51467 27773 1.17
5 49.72 76.69 62.52 64.03 6.05 55350 31040 1.28
10 51.33 77.44 63.91 66.03 6.28 57229 32409 1.32
CD(P=0.05) 0.99 1.37 1.09 1.76 0.25 864 1030 0.04
Fe levels(kg ha-1)
Control 47.04 75.61 62.08 63.30 5.95 52626 29796 1.30
15 51.09 77.37 63.75 66.19 6.24 57084 32754 1.34
30 48.73 76.73 62.52 63.69 6.08 54335 28671 1.12
CD(P=0.05) 0.99 1.37 1.09 1.76 0.25 864 1030 0.04
Mn levels(kg ha-1)
Control 47.78 75.69 62.08 63.42 5.94 53419 29489 1.23
5 49.91 77.27 63.47 65.42 6.24 55803 31639 1.31
10 49.18 76.75 62.79 64.36 6.09 54823 30093 1.22
CD(P=0.05) 0.99 1.37 1.09 1.76 0.25 864 1030 0.04
[Ashok et al ,2016]
Source of Zn=ZnSO4.7H2O, Fe=: FeSO4.7H2O, Mn= MnSO4.7H2O,half as basal & half as FS, RD=NPK@120:60:60 kg/ha;
pH=7.2, Texture-Sandy loam *Zn-auxin activity, hormonal activity

41. 41
Effect of micronutrients on seed quality attributes in green gram cv. PDM -11
Treat
ments
Treatment details No. of
seeds/pod
1000-seed
weight(g)
Seed yield/ha
(kg)
Abnormal
seedling (%)
Hard seed (%)
T1 Control 8.28 24.49 617.25 5.33 10.66
T2 ZnSO4@25kg/ha
(soil application)
8.98 25.99 695.85 2.66 6.33
T3 Borax@10kg/ha
(soil application)
8.95 25.55 830.50 1.00 7.00
T4 Ammonium molybdate
@5g/kg seed
(seed treatment)
9.11 23.19 779.44 1.00 6.66
T5 MnO2@ 0.5%
(foliar application)
8.40 25.12 702.49 1.50 3.33
T6 Zn-CHELATE@500g/ha
(soil application)
8.35 24.19 762.49 2.66 9.66
T7 MIXTURE* 9.05 26.61 854.72 0.66 4.33
Mean 8.7 25.02 747.68 2.1 6.85
CD(0.05) 0.564 1.405 7.666 1.802 1.326
* ZnSO4@25kg/ha+Borax@10kg/ha+ Ammonium molybdate@ 5g/kg seed+ Manganese dioxide@ 0.5%
EFFECT OF MICRONUTRIENTS APPLICATION ON SEED
YIELD AND QUALITY IN GREEN GRAM
[Rukeiya,2012]

42. 28 July 2021 42
Experimental title Phasing of Zinc application in Rice-Rice
cropping system for medium land Inceptisols of
Odisha
Details of the technology Dose of Zn(4),Frequency(3) , design -RBD
Recommended Ecosystem : Rice-Rice or cereal based
Experimental finding : Application of Zn@2.5 kg every year to the first
crop
Superiority over existing
technology :
Productivity
Profitability
Sustainability
Other parameters(if any)
: 2.5 kg Zn/CS over 5.0 kg Zn/crop
: 4.01 t/ha
: B:C ratio of 1.45
: 0.65 (SYI)
Message to farmers : Small application @ 2.5 kg Zn to the first crop of
cereal based CS
Way forward : Needs to be tested in other CS and soils
AICRP on Micronutrients, BBSR (2017-18)

43. 28 July 2021
43
Experimental title Phasing of Boron application in Rice-vegetable
cropping system of Odisha
Details of the technology Dose of Boron (4),Frequency(3) , design -RBD
Recommended Ecosystem : Rice-vegetable based Cropping System
Experimental finding :
Superiority over existing
technology :
Productivity
Profitability
Sustainability
Other parameters(if any)
: 1.5 kg B/Cropping System over 1.0 kg B/crop
: 35.46 q/ha rice and 172.5 t/ha knolkhol
: B:C ratio 2.27 (Rs.1,00,575=00)
: Quality improvement of the vegetable crop
Message to farmers : Application of B @ 1.5 kg to the rice crop of a rice-
vegetable system benefits both rice and vegetable with
max profit
Way forward : Needs to be tested in other cropping systems under
different soils
AICRP on Micronutrients, BBSR (2017-18)

44. 44
28 July 2021
DTPA extractable Cu= 1.1 µg/g

45. Effect of nanoscale zinc oxide on uptake of zinc by leaf and
kernel of peanut
45
28 July 2021
25 nm diameter of Zn nano particles are used in this study

46. Effect of fertigation by drip irrigation on groundnut productivity as compared to soi
and foliar application of micronutrients
46
28 July 2021

47. Influence of nano-ZnO and other Zn sources in strawberry
( foliar application)
zz
Nano-ZnO (200) 17.63
Nano-ZnO(400) 17.98
Nano-ZnO(600) 19.31
ZnSO4(200) 12.70
ZnSO4(400) 13.34
Sandy Clay Loam
pH 6.60 Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, Himachal Pradesh
Zn nutrition
(μg/g)
DTPA extractable Zn (μg/g)
47
28 July 2021
Saini et al.(2021)

48. FUTURE THRUST AREAS
 Periodic monitoring of Soil micronutrient status through soil testing
 Soil test based micronutrient application
 Micronutrient dose and frequency should be based on crop need in a
cropping sequence.
 Site and crop specific recommendations
 Critical limits need to be validated by field tests
 Promotion of nanotechnology
 Use of artificial intelligence
 Awareness campaigns
 State government initiatives like Bhoo Chetna Yojana
48
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49. CONCLUSION
 Micronutrients are essential for plant growth therefore their management to enhance crop
productivity, crop quality and environmental quality is need of the hour.
 Fortification through genetic and agronomic practices is a good possible solution of multiple
problems of micronutrient management.
 The principles of nutrient stewardship which include 4R’s (right source, rate, method and
time) helps in better micronutrient management.
 Use of modern technology (nano fertilizers, slow and controlled release fertilizers) should
be advocated for enhancing the nutrient use efficiency, crop and environmental quality.
• Technological advancement in increasing fertilizer use efficiency in agriculture is the key
factor to meet global food security along with nutritional security.
49
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50. References
 Prasad TNVKV, Sudhakar P, Sreenivasulu Y, Latha P, Munaswamy V, Reddy KR, Sreeprasad TS, Sanjalal
PR and Pradeep T. (2012). Effect of nano zinc oxide particles on the germination, growth and yield of
peanut. Journal of Plant Nutrition 35(6): 905-927.
 Shukla AK and Behera SK. (2017). Micronurtient Research in India: Retrospect and Prospects. Preprints of
seminar papers. Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, India.
 Singh A. L. (1999). Mineral Nutrition of Groundnut. In: A. Hemantranjan (eds), Advances in Plant
Physiology Vol II. Scientific Publishers (India), Jodhpur India. pp 161-200.
 Kumar, A. (1992). Fertigation through drip irrigation. In Drip Irrigation pp16-21, Proceeding of the
National Seminar on Drip Irrigation at IPCL, Baroda. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi.
 Directorate of Groundnut Research (2008). “AICRP on Groundnut”. Junagadh, India: Directorate of
Groundnut Research.
 Brown, P. H., Cakmak, I. and Zhang, Q. (1993). “Forms and function of zinc in plants”. In Zinc in Soil and
Plants, Edited by: Robson, A. D. 93–106. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
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