Combined zinc and nitrogen fertilization in different bread wheat genotypes grown under mediterranean conditions

Abstract

The combined application of nitrogen (N) and zinc (Zn) appears to be a promising agronomic strategy for the biofortification with Zn. To evaluate such efficiency, a field experiment was conducted in south-eastern Portugal under Zn-deficient soil. Four advanced breeding lines and two commercial varieties of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were fertilized with five treatments: i) control, ii) two foliar Zn applications, iii) one foliar Zn+N application, iv) soil and two foliar Zn applications, and v) soil and one foliar Zn+N application. Grain Zn content varied greatly across treatments and INIAV-1 and the commercial varieties were the most interesting cultivars in all the treatments. Grain Zn concentrations higher than the target level of 38 mg Zn kg -1 were obtained only when two foliar Zn applications were applied, alone or in combination with soil Zn applications, and grain Zn bioavailability also was more adequate (phytate:Zn ratios similar to 15). Soil Zn application resulted in grain yield increases between 7-10%, which virtually offset the extra application cost. The combined soil and two foliar treatment could be a good option for biofortifying bread wheat under Zn-deficient soils.

Rational Application of Fertilizer Nitrogen to Soil in Combination With Foliar Zn Spraying Improved Zn Nutritional Quality of Wheat Grains

“…Wang et al ( 2012 ) found Zn concentrations in grains of wheat varied from 18.79 to 23.11 mg kg −1 in the control treatment of soil containing 0.78 mg kg −1 DTPA-Zn without soil Zn application. Gomez-Coronado et al ( 2017 ) reported grain Zn concentrations varied from 14.0 to 20.3 mg kg −1 when the DTPA-Zn was 0.28 mg kg −1 without soil Zn application, which is lower than 0.5 mg kg −1 DTPA-Zn as the widely recognized critical Zn level (Sims and Johnson, 1991 ). It is clear that the range of Zn concentrations between 34.9 and 47.7 mg kg −1 in the non-foliar Zn treated cultivars of this preset study (Table 3 ) is much higher than those obtained from Wang et al ( 2012 ) and Gomez-Coronado et al ( 2017 ), properly due to different wheat cultivars investigated and a high DTPA-Zn (1.5 mg kg −1 ) in combination with soil application of 30 kg ZnSO 4 ·7H 2 O ha −1 .…”

“…Gomez-Coronado et al ( 2017 ) reported grain Zn concentrations varied from 14.0 to 20.3 mg kg −1 when the DTPA-Zn was 0.28 mg kg −1 without soil Zn application, which is lower than 0.5 mg kg −1 DTPA-Zn as the widely recognized critical Zn level (Sims and Johnson, 1991 ). It is clear that the range of Zn concentrations between 34.9 and 47.7 mg kg −1 in the non-foliar Zn treated cultivars of this preset study (Table 3 ) is much higher than those obtained from Wang et al ( 2012 ) and Gomez-Coronado et al ( 2017 ), properly due to different wheat cultivars investigated and a high DTPA-Zn (1.5 mg kg −1 ) in combination with soil application of 30 kg ZnSO 4 ·7H 2 O ha −1 . In the location of Samsun with 1.59 mg kg −1 DTPA-Zn and Adana with 0.49 mg kg −1 , at the rate of 50 kg ha −1 of ZnSO 4 ·7H 2 O application to soil, Cakmak et al ( 2010a ) found grain Zn concentrations varied from 23 to 29 mg kg −1 and from 32 to 37 mg kg −1 in the controls without foliar Zn application, respectively, which indicated that a higher DTPA-Zn didn't necessarily lead to a higher grain Zn concentration.…”

“…Previous researches have revealed that Zn concentrations in grains of wheat are largely influenced by genotype, environment and their interactions (Gomez-Becerra et al, 2010 ; Joshi et al, 2010 ; Murphy et al, 2011 ). Under Zn-deficient soils, Gomez-Coronado et al ( 2016 , 2017 ) found that selecting the high efficient cultivars for Zn accumulation combined with appropriate soil and foliar Zn applications could be a best strategy to biofortify bread wheat with Zn. However, responses in grain Zn concentrations, bioavailability, and other nutritional properties including concentrations of protein, total and phytate P, and Ca of the abovementioned different kinds of wheat cultivars to soil application of fertilizer N in combination with foliar Zn spray have been less studied.…”

“…However, responses in grain Zn concentrations, bioavailability, and other nutritional properties including concentrations of protein, total and phytate P, and Ca of the abovementioned different kinds of wheat cultivars to soil application of fertilizer N in combination with foliar Zn spray have been less studied. Most experiments investigating the relationship between N nutrition and Zn deposition in wheat grains were conducted under soil pot culture or hydroponic conditions, and usually only one cultivar or genotype was used (Gomez-Coronado et al, 2017 ).…”

Biostimulant Effects of Glutacetine® and Its Derived Formulations Mixed With N Fertilizer on Post-heading N Uptake and Remobilization, Seed Yield, and Grain Quality in Winter Wheat

“…One of the main impacts on grain quality observed in the present study was the significant reduction in phytate in response to VNT1-D1 and VNT4-D2 and D3 ( Figure 4A). Substantial effort has been invested in (i) wheat cultivars with low phytic acid content in the grain (Guttieri et al, 2006;Ficco et al, 2009;Guo et al, 2015;Raboy, 2020) and (ii) biofortification to enhance Fe and Zn contents and availability in wheat grain (Hussain et al, 2012;Ramzani et al, 2016;Gomez-Coronado et al, 2017;Xia et al, 2018). A major contributor to Fe and Zn deficiencies in the human body is the abundance of phytates in food (Gharibzahedi and Jafari, 2017;Raboy, 2020), which are involved in chelating minerals, such as Zn and Fe (Xue et al, 2015).…”