TRICHODERMA SPP. AND METAL CHELATOR ENHANCED GROWTH AND YIELDS IN WHEAT PLANTS BY INCREASING ZINC AVAILABILITY

A pot experiment of wheat was conducted with five different treatments viz. (I-Control, II-20 mg kg-1 Zn, III-50% compost extract, IV-50% extract+bioagent (Trichoderma spp.) and V-EDTA+Zn 20 mg kg-1) to test the response of wheat plants grown in alluvial soil under warehouse condition. The growth attributes like plant height, fresh and dry matter yield enhanced with addition of compost extract, bioagent and EDTA. Number of tillers plant-1, no. of inflorescence plant-1, inflorescence length plant-1, weight inflorescence-1, no. of grains ear-1, and weight per 100 seeds significantly increased in the plants treated with zinc in combination with compost extract, bioagent and EDTA. The value of total chlorophyll for control plants was 2.80 mg g-1 fresh weight, which were significantly increased by 5.3, 10.7, 14.2 and 23.2% on addition of zinc and its combination with different agents. The activity of catalase in shoot for control plants was 655 mg g-1 fresh weight, which was changed to 685, 705, 755 and 808 for II, III, IV and V level of treatments. The activity of amylase and peroxidase were also found to increase after addition of compost, bioagent and EDTA in leaves of wheat plants. The sugar, protein and proline content were significantly higher in the plants treated with different combinations.