EFFECT OF FOLIAR APPLICATION OF Zn ON HERBAGE AND OIL YIELD OF PALMAROSA (CYMBOPOGON MARTINII)

The effect of Zn on herbage and oil yield of palmarosa (Cymbopogon martinii) was studied in a field experiment. The experiment was laid out under randomized block design (RBD) with six treatments (viz., 0.0, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7 and 0.8% Zn and four replications. The foliar application of zinc significantly increased the plant height as compared to control. Similarly, the number of tillers was also significantly increased over control. Maximum herbage yield was associated with 0.7% Zn (735.45 q ha−1) followed by 0.8% Zn (714.91 q ha−1), 0.6% Zn (665.12 q ha−1), 0.5% Zn (625.16 q ha−1) and 0.4% Zn (533.12 q ha−1), respectively. The maximum oil content (0.7%) was registered with control while, the maximum oil yield (441.24 kg ha−1) was obtained with foliar application of 0.7% Zn.