Effectiveness of Water-soluble Fertilizers Sprays on Productivity and Profitability of Utera Linseed (Linum usitatissimum) in Assam

Background: Linseed or flax is popularly called “Tissi” in Assam. The crop is considered as an oilseed crop in the state where some parts people used the raw seeds in their various cuisines. The crop has tremendously grown for a variety of purposes; food, fibre and medicine worldwide. The area under linseed has been decreasing day by day due to its low productivity. Enhancement of the crop yield can be achieved either by increasing the cropping area under this crop or by using improved agronomic intervention. Basically, the present investigation was designed to increase the crop yield by means of application of water-soluble fertilizers. Methods: During the rabi season of 2022-23 and 2023-24 at the Experimental Farm Unit, Zonal Research Station, Shillongani, Nagaon, Assam, an experiment was conducted to enhance the yield potentiality of utera linseed. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with three replications and comprised of eight treatment combinations of water- soluble fertilizers, viz., F1: 19:19:19 @ 1.0%, F2: 13:0:45 @1.0%, F3: Urea @2%, F4: ZnSO4 @0.5%, F5: 19:19:19 @1.0% + ZnSO4 @0.5%, F6: 13:0:45 @1.0% + ZnSO4@0.5%, F7: Urea 2% + ZnSO4@0.5% and F8: Control (Water spray). Result: Consecutive two years of Experimentation revealed that foliar spraying of 2% urea and 0.5% zinc sulphate separately one at vegetative stage and another at capsule development stage significantly improved the utera linseed productivity and profitability, yielding higher grain yield (520.5 kg/ha) and net returns (Rs. 20230/ha). Crop growth rate and relative growth rate were shown significant variation. The study affirmed the suitability of foliage application of water-soluble fertilizers for obtaining higher grain yield of linseed under utera ecology.