Abstract
In Brazil, Zn deficiency is common in soils used for maize cultivation. However, the changes in the mineral composition in plants with Zn deficiency have been little studied. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between Zn deficiency and the mineral composition in the parts of maize plants grown under contrasting soils. Maize was grown in greenhouse conditions with increasing of Zn rate (0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 mg kg -1 ) in two soils (Ferralsol and Cambisol). After 60 days of emergence, the plant were separated into roots, stalk nodes, stalk internodes, leaves and leaf sheath, and subsequently determined the dry matter and mineral composition (P, Ca, Mg, K, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu and Al). Besides the symptoms commonly described for Zn deficiency, darkening of the stalk nodes was found (related to the preferential accumulation of Fe), and also occurred maize P deficiency in the Ferralsol. The Zn deficiency favored increasing concentrations of Fe, Mn and Al in all parts of maize plants in Cambisol, whereas in Ferralsol this did not happen for any of the elements analyzed. Relations between the elements and Zn were more correlated with maize dry matter production than Zn concentrations in leaves, leaf sheaths and stalk nodes. In conclusion, the accumulation of minerals in maize was favored by Zn deficiency, especially for maize in Cambisol.
Highlights
An estimated half of agricultural soils used in the world are Zn deficient, having an average value of only 50 mg kg-1 as a total concentration (ALLOWAY, 2008)
The present study aimed to evaluate the relationship between Zn deficiency and the mineral composition in parts of maize plants grown under contrasting soils
With the absence of Zn, the seedling had reduced growth and necrosis of all leaves in Cambisol, while in Ferralsol it was observed interveinal chlorosis in new leaves and necrotic spots on the intermediate leaves. These results indicate that the Cambisol Zn deficiency was more severe, leading to leaf necrosis (BROADLEY et al, 2012)
Summary
An estimated half of agricultural soils used in the world are Zn deficient, having an average value of only 50 mg kg-1 as a total concentration (ALLOWAY, 2008). For highly weathered soil in Brazil, the Zn deficiency has been shown to be critical since the majority of soil parent materials were poor in Zn and the weathering process depleted its reservoir even more (MARQUES et al, 2004) When these weathering acid soils were incorporated to crop production, the soil pH was adjusted by liming, there decrease in Zn availability in soil (KABATA-PENDIAS, 2011). Maize is known as a crop sensitive to lack of Zn, whereas availability in the soil is related to the productive potential of maize (ALLOWAY, 2008; PUGA et al, 2013) It is the second most produced crop in Brazil, and the country is the world's third largest producer (USDA, 2016). Despite this ranking, the average yield continues to be low with great potential for its improvement. This can be seen in many regions of Brazil where there is high technological level used in maize farming and favorable environment conditions, allowing yields 2 or 3 fold higher than the Brazilian national average
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