makka zinc deficiency white bud broad white band leaf zinc sulphate
How do I control zinc deficiency in maize (white bud)?
GGurmail Singh9mo ago · 319 views
6 Answers
🌾Farmer.in Krishi TeamExpert ✓9mo ago
Zinc deficiency is very common in maize and shows as a broad pale to white band along both sides of the midrib on younger leaves, stunting, and in severe cases a white bud, mostly on high pH and sandy or heavily limed soils. Correct it with a basal soil application of about 25 kg zinc sulphate heptahydrate per hectare in deficient soils, ideally based on a soil test. If the crop is already showing symptoms, give a foliar spray of around 0.5 percent zinc sulphate with a little lime, repeated once or twice at weekly intervals to recover quickly. Apply zinc separately from phosphatic fertiliser, and once corrected the band fades and new leaves come normal. Follow your soil health card for the exact dose.
BBalkar8mo ago
The white band on young leaves was zinc on my sandy field. A zinc sulphate spray greened the new leaves within a week.
RRajeshwar Reddy8mo ago
In Telangana my Soil Health Card already flagged low zinc, so I applied zinc sulphate at sowing as a basal dose and never saw the white band that year. Acting before symptoms appear was cheaper than spraying to fix it later.
HHarjit Singh7mo ago
One caution: add the recommended little lime to the zinc sulphate spray so it does not scorch the leaves, and do not mix it with the DAP. When I sprayed zinc and phosphate together once, the effect was poor.
SSuresh Choudhary7mo ago
In Rajasthan on my limey soil the white bud kept coming back, so my KVK advised a soil dose at sowing rather than relying only on sprays. The basal zinc held the crop clean all season, while sprays alone needed repeating.
DDinesh Patidar6mo ago
One tip from Madhya Pradesh: I sprayed in the cool evening and the new leaves greened up without any leaf burn. A midday spray in hot sun once left light scorch marks, so I keep zinc sprays for the evening now.