Zinc (Zn) deficiency caused by inadequate dietary intake is a global nutritional problem in human populations, especially in developing countries. Therefore, Biofortification of wheat and other cereal crops is an urgent challenge and high-priority research task. A field study was planned to evaluate the influence of zinc application on grain yield, grain zinc and grain phytic acid concentrations of wheat cultivars. In this study, we also examined the relationships between grain yield, grain zinc and grain phytic acid concentration. Three wheat cultivars, i.e., C1=Faisalabad-2008, C2=Punjab-2011 and C3=Millet-2011 were tested with five different zinc application methods, i.e., T1=control, T2=seed priming, T3=soil application, T4=foliar application and T5=soil+foliar application. We found that grain yield and grain zinc were positively correlated, whereas, grain phytic acid and grain zinc were significantly negatively correlated. Results also revealed that soil+foliar, soil and foliar application alone considerably increased the grain yield; however, seed priming slightly enhanced the grain yield. Grain zinc concentration increased from (33.1, 33.7 mg kg-1) at control to (62.3, 63.1 mg kg-1) at soil+foliar application in 2013-14 and 2014-15 respectively. Zinc application methods, especially, soil+folair application markedly decreased the grain phytic acid contents, however, the maximum grain phytic acid concentration was recorded with no zinc application. Moreover, all the tested cultivars also had considerable variations for the grain yield, grain zinc and grain phytic acid contents. Conclusively, soil+foliar application of zinc is suitable for the optimum grain yield and grain bio-fortification of wheat.

Cadmium (Cd) and microplastics (MPs) are common contaminants in paddy fields, posing a serious challenge to rice productivity. Silicon (Si) is widely used

| Wheat plays a major role in food security and nutritional needs of people across the globe. Management considerations play an imperious role in the final yield and quality. The cultivars differed significantly in terms of growth and yield. Therefore, cultivars should be properly select in order to get good quality and better yield. Therefore, this study was planned to screen out best cultivars for their yield potential and quality under Faisalabad conditions. The experiment was comprised of eight wheat cultivars, i.e. Galaxy-2013, Ujala-2015, Inqlab-2000, SH-2002, Punjab-2011, Millet-2011, Faisalabad-2008 and Lasani-2008. The results revealed that all wheat cultivars have differential response for growth, yield and quality. The wheat cultivar Galaxy-2013, produced the maximum productive tillers (298 m -2 ), spike length (13.20 cm) grains/spike (40.06), 1000-grain weight (47.30 g), biological yield (14.83 t ha -1 ), grain yield (5.40 t ha -1 ), grain protein contents (12.54 %) and grain fiber contents (4.15 %) followed by Ujala-2015 and Punjab-2011 and Fsd-2008, however, cultivar, SH-2002 and Auqab-2000 performed poorly in terms of yield and quality. These results suggested that wheat cultivars i.e. Galaxy-2013, Ujala-2015, Punjab-2011 can grow successfully under Faisalabad conditions for getting good yield and quality. Moreover, these cultivars can also be used in future breeding programs for development of high yielding varieties with good quality for semi-arid regions.

| Lentil is one of the most valuable pulse crops in the world that is enriched with a good quantity of mineral and protein. Sowing methods and irrigation application are an important agronomic consideration to get maximum production of lentil crop. Therefore, this study was conducted in RCBD with a two-factor split plot to determine the impact of various levels of irrigation and sowing methods on the growth and yield of lentil. Crop was sown by three sowing methods; flat, bed and ridge and with four different irrigations levels; I 1 : one irrigation, 60 days after sowing (DAS), I 2 : two irrigations 30 and 60 DAS, I 3 : three irrigations 30, 60 and 90 DAS and I 4 : four irrigations 30, 40, 60 and 80 DAS. The variable irrigation levels and sowing methods significantly affected growth and yield of lentil crop. The maximum plant height (47.66 cm), branches per plant (11.66), pods/plant (85.33), biological yield (5204 kg/ha), 1000 grain weight (20 g) and grain yield (1145.30 kg/ha) were recorded in ridge sowing with three irrigations applied 30, 60 and 90 days after sowing (DAS) and minimum plant height (38.33 cm) branches/plant (5), pods/plant (61.33), biological yield (4820 kg/ha), 1000 grain weight (10 g) and grain yield (809 kg ha -1 ) were recorded in flat sowing with first irrigation applied 60 DAS. The results indicated that ridge sowing method and three irrigation levels are an important practice to get the maximum productivity of lentil crop grown in semi-arid conditions of Faisalabad.