Abstract
Purpose
The aims of this work were (i) to find a soil indicator to predict durum wheat yield response to Zn fertilization, (ii) to compare the effect of various Zn fertilization strategies on wheat yield and Zn biofortification in calcareous Vertisols of southern Spain, and (iii) to assess the effect of these Zn fertilization strategies on crop P uptake (durum and bread wheat).
Methods
Different Zn fertilization strategies, soil application (0.3–10 kg ha−1) and foliar spraying (two rates, different growth stages), were tested in wheat crops under field conditions in the period 2012–2019.
Results
A simple soil indicator failed to predict durum wheat response to Zn fertilization. Only one of the combinations tested increased wheat yield in the 11 field experiments carried out. Zinc foliar spraying (1.28 kg ha−1) was effective for wheat biofortification when applied at early booting (durum wheat) or flowering, and also when splitting this application between stem elongation and flowering stages (bread wheat). The foliar treatments produced the highest zinc use efficiencies (6–19%) and soil applications the lowest (0.2–1.3%). Moreover, foliar treatments increased grain Zn concentrations by 12–51% while soil application increased such concentrations by only 4–13%. None of the Zn fertilization strategies altered P uptake.
Conclusion
No yield increase in wheat is expected from Zn fertilization for the application methods and rates used here and the soils studied (calcareous Vertisols under Mediterranean climate). However, foliar applications at and after early booting stage are promising for durum and bread wheat biofortification.
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Data availability
The data are available under request.
Abbreviations
- EC:
-
electrical conductivity
- OC:
-
organic carbon by rapid dichromate oxidation
- POlsen :
-
Available soil P
- ZnDTPA :
-
labile Zn in soil, extracted with diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid
- ZnUE:
-
Zn use efficiency
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Acknowledgments
The authors appreciate the help and knowledge provided by farmers on the studied fields (especially Juan Carlos Moreno and Paco Moreno) and technicians of the Soil Science Unit of the University of Córdoba (Juan Manuel Delgado and Mercedes Castro) and Agrupación Cordobesa de Agricultores (S.A.T.) (particularly Rafael Carranza and Miguel Sánchez).
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This work was co-funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Regional Development Fund [Project AGL2014–57835-C2–2-R], and also by a scholarship awarded to A. González-Guzmán (BES-2015-073507). A. R. Sánchez-Rodríguez acknowledges additional funding by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities under the “Juan de la Cierva–Incorporación” programme [Grant Number, IJCI-2016-27,388].
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Sánchez-Rodríguez, A.R., Marín-Paredes, M., González-Guzmán, A. et al. Zinc biofortification strategies for wheat grown on calcareous Vertisols in southern Spain: application method and rate. Plant Soil 462, 125–140 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-04863-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-04863-7