Abstract
This study investigated the response of corn silage to different combinations of zinc (Zn) and phosphorus (P) soil supply when grown in sandy soil. The soil was naturally poor in extractable Zn and rich in plant-available P. The experiment was conducted in outdoor containers. The treatments consisted of soil supply combinations of 3 levels of Zn (0, 5 and 10 mg Zn kg−1 of dry soil) and 4 levels of P (0, 12, 36 and 72 mg P2O5 kg−1 of dry soil). The results showed the absence of a significant effect (at p ≤ 0.05) of Zn-P interaction on plant growth, plant mineral content or total aerial dry weight at harvest. P application depressed Zn shoot content, and conversely, Zn supply slightly reduced P shoot content. The total aerial dry weight at harvest was not enhanced by P application. However, it was significantly increased by Zn supply of 5 mg·kg−1 only for the highest P (72 mg·kg−1) application (at p ≤ 0.05). This increase was around 15% compared to no Zn soil supply. It was especially linked to kernel dry weight and particularly to pollination rate. For the highest level of P supply, Zn applications significantly enhanced (at p ≤ 0.05) the kernel dry weight and the pollination rate by 22.1% and 38.4% respectively, compared to no Zn supply.
Highlights
Zinc (Zn) deficiency is a common nutritional constraint for crop production, cereals.As is well documented, corn is known to be very sensitive to Zn deficiency stress [1,2]
The current work is undertaken to test the interactive effect of differential rates of Zn and P supply on growth, on mineral content, and on biomass production of corn silage grown on sandy soil
Application was recorded only at 5 mg·kg−1 of Zn. Such a behavior was not understood and is reason for further investigation. At this level of Zn, the highest P supply (72 mg·kg−1) resulted in increases of around 7.08% and 7.4% in stem height and in leaf area respectively compared to no P application
Summary
Zinc (Zn) deficiency is a common nutritional constraint for crop production, cereals. Ova et al [7] found out that Zn and P interaction in wheat depends on mycorrhiza development, which is reduced under high soil P content Such reduction minimized the Zn plant absorption. In the sandy soil of the Loukkos area (Northwestern Morocco), poor in Zn and relatively rich in P, adequate Zn soil supply corrects Zn deficiency and enhances silage yield [14] It appears that soil P application enhances corn growth even if this soil is naturally rich in P. The current work is undertaken to test the interactive effect of differential rates of Zn and P supply on growth, on mineral content, and on biomass production of corn silage grown on sandy soil
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