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Background: Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] is the most widely cultivated pulse crop of Kerala. Deficiencies of micronutrients viz., Zn and B are a common problem in cowpea. Foliar nutrition is very effective to correct the micronutrient deficiencies in pulses but it is too laborious. Seed pelleting and priming are two simple cost-effective methods to overcome the micronutrient deficiencies. The present study aimed to study the effect of seed invigouration with zinc sulphate and borax and to evaluate its effect along with Trichoderma viride on nutrient uptake and soil nutrient status of grain cowpea. Methods: The experiment was conducted at Coconut Research Station, Balaramapuram, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The experiment was conducted in RBD with 8 seed invigouration treatments and a control during Rabi 2018. Result: Seed invigouration treatments had significant effect on nutrient uptake and nutrient availability. Seeds primed in ZnSO4 0.05 per cent for 4h recorded the highest NPK uptake by crop, the highest soil organic carbon content, available N and Zn status. Zinc uptake by crop and available soil K status were recorded the highest in seed primed in ZnSO4 0.05 per cent for 4 h + Trichoderma viride seed treatment 10 g kg-1 seed. Boron uptake by crop and available soil B and P status were recorded the highest in seeds pelleted with borax 100 mg kg-1 seed. Hence it can be concluded that seed primed in ZnSO4 with 0.05 per cent for 4 h improved the Zn availability and uptake and seed pelleting with borax 100 mg kg-1 improved the B availability and uptake of grain cowpea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Blackgram (Vigna mungo L.) is an important short duration crop and is grown throughout the country. Seed treatment can improve seedling establishment and better crop stand; it also improves plants ability to tolerate stress at early growth stages and foliar application has the advantage of quick and efficient utilization of nutrients, elimination of nutrient losses through leaching and fixation in soil and also helps in regulating the uptake of nutrients by plants thus improving productivity. Methods: A field experiment was conducted during rabi 2018 at the Instructional Farm, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram to assess the effect of different levels of seed treatments and nutrient schedule on the growth and yield of blackgram. The growth attributes, yield attributes and yield viz., number of pods per plant, seeds per pod, length of pod, 100 seed weight, grain yield, haulm yield and harvest index were favorably influenced by the treatments. Result: Seed treatment with borax @ 1 g kg-1 seed and sodium molybdate @ 1 g kg-1 seed were observed superior in increasing plant height (135.84 cm), number of trifoliate leaves per plant (7.61), pods per plant (24.16), length of pod (5.23 cm), 100 seed weight (6.74 g), grain yield (1005 kg ha-1) and harvest index (0.38). Significantly higher nodule number (41.83), effective nodule number (33.83) and weight of nodules (58.83 mg) plant-1 at flowering were documented with sodium molybdate @ 1 g kg-1 seed. In case of seeds per pod significantly higher number of pods per plant (7.33) was observed with borax @ 2 g kg-1 seed and maximum haulm yield (1854 kg ha-1) reported with sodium molybdate @ 1 g kg-1 seed. The basal application of ½ N + full P + ½ K followed by ½ N and ½ K as foliar spray of 13:0:45 at 15, 30, 45 and 60 DAS produced significantly more 100 seed weight (6.52 g), grain yield (872 kg ha-1) and haulm yield (1750 kg ha-1). Interaction effect of boron and molybdenum also showed significant influence with respect to yield attributes and yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]