Nutrient accumulation and translocation in maturing wheat plants grown on waterlogged soil

Abstract

Wheat plants (Triticum aestivum L., cv. Arina) growing in large pots (perforated at the bottom for controls, intact for flooding) were embedded in the field in spring. Waterlogging was initiated at anthesis and was maintained throughout the maturation period. Grain yield as well as potassium, phosphorus and magnesium contents in the shoot were decreased on flooded soil, while manganese and iron contents increased considerably. Total calcium and zinc contents per shoot remained comparable to those in controls. The reduction of potassium, phosphorus and magnesium contents by waterlogging was greatest in the grains, while manganese and iron accumulated mostly in the vegetative parts and the glumes. Zinc contents were also lowered in the grains during waterlogging due to an inhibited redistribution from the vegetative parts to the grains. Our results indicate that flooding caused not only an accumulation of manganese and iron in the shoot, but also affected the redistribution of macro-and micronutrients to the maturing gains.

Assessment of Selected Heavy Metals in Onion Bulb and Onion Leaf (Allium cepa L.), in Selected Areas of Central Rift Valley of Oromia Region Ethiopia

“…Result of this study were in agreement with the finding of Stieger and Feller,[21] reported higher Fe and Mn contents can be detected in wheat shoots (Figure 1). …”

Heavy Metals in Crop Plants: Transport and Redistribution Processes on the Whole Plant Level

“…Fe and Mn are reduced in waterlogged soil to the well water-soluble Fe ++ and Mn ++ ions increasing for these two elements the concentration in the soil solution [70]. As a consequence, higher Fe and Mn contents can be detected in wheat shoots under such conditions [70].…”

“…If there would be no further redistribution, the heavy metals would accumulate primarily in photosynthetically active (transpiring) leaves. Such an accumulation with no or only a minor redistribution was observed for the micronutrient Mn as well as for the macronutrient Ca and to a minor extent for Fe (Figures 2 and 3) [2,[67][68][69][70]. Although the xylem vessels are dead, membranes of living cells around the vessels allow a selective removal of ions from the xylem sap [68,69].…”

“…Distribution patterns for several heavy metals are summarized in Figure 4. Approaches to identify redistribution processes via the phloem include balance sheets for contents in various organs [60,61,70,74], introduction of radiolabeled heavy metals into a defined leaf via a flap [69] and phloem interruption (e.g., by steam-girdling) [68,69,74].…”

“…The redistribution from expanded leaves to sinks represents besides the flux from the roots to the shoot an additional control mechanism for the heavy metal contents in emerging organs and maturing fruits and seeds [68,70,74,79]. Fe and Mn are reduced in waterlogged soil to the well water-soluble Fe ++ and Mn ++ ions increasing for these two elements the concentration in the soil solution [70].…”