The concentration ratio of alkaline earth elements calcium, barium and strontium in grains of diploid, tetraploid and hexaploid wheat

Abstract

Even though calcium (Ca), strontium (Sr) and barium (Ba) belong to the same group of the periodic table of elements, and thus have similar chemical features, their importance for plants differs greatly. Since plants do not have the ability to completely dis?criminate between essential (e.g. Ca) and non-essential elements (e.g. Sr and Ba), they read?ily take all of them up from soil solution, which is reflected in the ratios of concentrations of those elements in plant tissues, and it influences their nutritive characteristics. The ability of plant species and genotypes to take up and accumulate chemical elements in their different tissues is related to their genetic background. However, differences in chemical composition are the least reflected in their reproductive parts. Hence, the aim of this study was to evaluate ratios of concentrations of Ca, Sr and Ba in the whole grain of diploid and tetraploid wheat - ancestors of common wheat, as well as in hexaploid commercial cultivars, grown in the field, at the same location, over a period of three years. The investigated genotypes accumulated Ca, Sr and Ba at different levels, which is reflected in the ratio of their concentrations in the grain. The lowest ratio was established between Ba and Sr, followed by Ca and Ba, while the highest ratio was between Ca and Sr. Moreover, the results have shown that the year of study, genotype and the combination highly significantly affected the ratio of the concentration Ca:Sr, Ca:Ba, and Ba:Sr.