The field experiment was conducted in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications at Agricultural Research Station (ARS), Mandor, during the rainy season of 2018 on sandy loam soil of low nitrogen, low phosphorus, low zinc, low iron and medium potassium content with 7.8 pH. The soil application of zinc sulphate heptahydrate @ 25 kg/ha at the time of sowing + foliar application of 0.5% solution of ferrous sulphate at 30 and 45 days after sowing recorded 9%, 40.7%, 9.5% and 6.9% higher plant height, number of tillers/plant, panicle length and panicle girth at harvest, respectively over control. The grain yield (38.9 q/ha) with soil application of zinc sulphate @ 25 kg/ha + foliar application of 0.5% ferrous sulphate solution was increased by 47% over micronutrient deficient control. This treatment also recorded a maximum net return (` 57632/ha) with a B: C ratio of 4.15.

Highlights

• The role of micronutrients (zinc and iron) is vital for various plant growth and developmental processes.
• Foliar application is readily available for plant uptake, and thus it becomes generally more effective than its soil application.
• Pearl millet growth parameters and yield can be increased substantially due to soil application of zinc sulphate and foliar application of ferrous sulphate in western Rajasthan conditions.