ROHTAS KUMAR, VIKAS KUMAR, H. K. YADAV AND SANJIB KUMAR BEHERA
Department of Soil Science, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004 (Haryana), India
AICRP on Micronutrients, ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal-462 038 (M. P.), India
*(e-mail: rkmsoil@gmail.com)
(Received: 5 December 2025; Accepted: 23 December 2025)
SUMMARY
Zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) deficiency prevalence severely limit the mustard productivity, causing stunted growth, chlorosis, reduced yields and poor grain quality due to low availability of these micronutrients. This study aimed to identify high Zn and Fe acquisition efficient mustard genotypes under both (Zn and Fe) deficient condition separately. In order to distinguish tolerance 20 mustard genotypes, assess yield response, nutrient uptake and efficiency indices to identify superiority of nutrient-efficient genotype for breeding purposes and high-yielding varieties suitability under Fe and Zn deficient soils., two field experiments were conducted separately one on Fe deficient soil (pH 7.9, DTPA-Fe 4.34 mg/kg) and another on Zn deficient soil (pH 8.3, DTPA-Zn 0.30 mg/kg. In Fe deficient soil, iron sulphate @ 50 kg/ha was applies applied in half portion of the field and another is kept as untreated controls. Likewise, in Zn deficient soil, zinc sulphate heptahydrate @ 25 kg/ha was also applied in similar manner. Results of these studies, revealed that genotype RH 1529 was found the most Fe-tolerant genotype with 1.8% yield response, iron efficiency index (IEI) 98.22 and iron efficiency (IE) 94.11. the genotype RH 1499-7 exhibited peak Fe uptake (428.75 g/ha treated). For Zn stress, RH 119 showed highest tolerance with yield 2.4% response, zinc efficiency index (ZEI) 97.51 and zinc efficiency (ZE) 73.74. In Zn treated soil, genotype RH 725 achieved highest yield (25.4 q/ha with yield response of 3.4%). All genotypes classified as tolerant to semi-tolerant (yield responses <25%), with no susceptible was observed. These results imply that prioritizing genotypes like RH 1529, RH 1430 (Fe-efficient) and RH 119, RH 725 (Zn-efficient) in breeding programs, combined with targeted agronomic biofortification, can enhance mustard stability in deficient environments may narrow productivity gaps, boost farmer incomes and improve nutritional security in micronutrient- poor regions.
Key words: Genotypes, response, uptake, harvest index, content, zinc and iron