Abstract
Increasing zinc (Zn) concentration in wheat grain is an important global challenge due to high incidence of Zn deficiency in human populations. In this study, a two-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of foliar ZnSO4 combined with various biostimulants (fulvic acid (FA), seaweed extract (SE), amino acids (AA), and microbial incubates (MI)) on Zn concentration and bioavailability in wheat grain under different soil nitrogen (N) levels (0, 120, and 240 kg N/ha). Grain Zn concentration and bioavailability were significantly enhanced by foliar Zn plus various biostimulants and soil N supply. Compared to foliar Zn alone, foliar Zn + FA resulted in 16% increase in grain Zn, mainly from insoluble Zn increases, while foliar Zn + AA caused 11% increase in grain Zn, mainly from soluble (at N0) and insoluble Zn increases (at N120). Foliar Zn + FA and Zn + AA generally resulted in higher Zn bioavailability than foliar Zn alone. Additionally, N concentration and Fe concentration and bioavailability in grain were enhanced with foliar Zn + AA and soil N application. Thus, foliar ZnSO4 plus FA and AA under optimal soil N rate (120 kg N/ha) can be an effective and economically friendly approach for achieving agronomic biofortification.
Highlights
Zinc deficiency is the most prevalent micronutrient deficiency in human beings, negatively affecting at least one-third of the world population [1]
According to the results of the analysis of variance (ANOVA), grain yield and the concentration of N and Phytic acid (PA) were significantly affected by cropping year and soil N application rate, whereas the different foliar applications significantly influenced N and P concentrations (Table 1, Table 2)
Grain PA concentration was significantly decreased with the improvement of N supply from N0 to N120 but unaffected by further enhancing N supply from N120 to N240
Summary
Zinc deficiency is the most prevalent micronutrient deficiency in human beings, negatively affecting at least one-third of the world population [1]. Insufficient dietary intake of Zn is the major reason for the widespread prevalence of Zn deficiency in humans [2]. An important food source for two-thirds of the world population, provides up to 70% of the daily calorie intake in rural areas [3]. Wheat is inherently low in Zn, and there is strong evidence that rising concentrations of atmospheric CO2 leads to reduced levels of Zn in. C-3 crops, including wheat [5,6]. Improving the concentration of Zn in wheat grain has become a high-priority research area. Agronomic biofortification via Zn fertilization, especially by foliar Zn application, is thought to be the most useful, cost-effective, and applicable solution for achieving Zn biofortification in wheat [2]
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