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Differences in uptake and translocation of foliar‐applied Zn in maize and wheat

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Abstract

Background and Aim

Success in agronomic biofortification of maize and wheat is highly variable. This study aimed to elucidate the differences in uptake and translocation of foliar-applied zinc (Zn) in maize (Zea mays L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) using different experimental approaches.

Methods

Old leaves of plants cultured with low or adequate Zn supply in soil were treated with natural Zn (as ZnSO4) or enriched stable isotope 70Zn as SO4 salt. Treated leaves, and the remaining untreated shoot and roots were analyzed for Zn using quantitative (ICP-OES and ICP-MS after acid digestion) and qualitative (fluorescence microscopy after Zinpyr-1 staining) techniques.

Results

Application of Zn to a single old leaf resulted in significantly higher increments in Zn concentration of the treated leaf, remaining untreated shoot and roots in wheat than in maize, particularly under low Zn supply. The relative Zn uptake (i.e., the portion of 70Zn taken up by the treated leaf) was also estimated to be significantly higher in wheat than maize, irrespective of the rate of Zn supply to plants. Higher uptake and translocation of Zn in wheat compared to maize was also visualized and demonstrated by using Zinpyr-1 fluorescent dye.

Conclusions

Our results conclude that wheat is superior to maize in terms of leaf penetration and uptake, as well as subsequent translocation of foliar-applied Zn, therefore, the agronomic biofortification potential is better for wheat than for maize.

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Abbreviations

ANOVA:

analysis of variance

DMSO:

dimethyl sulphoxide

EDTA:

ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid

EDDHA:

ethylenediamine-N, N’-bis (2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid)

ICP-MS:

inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

ICP-OES:

inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry

w/v:

weight per volume

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Acknowledgements

This study is part of the first author Raheela Rehman’s PhD thesis. The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from HarvestPlus (www.harvestplus.org). Raheela Rehman acknowledges the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey for receiving a TUBITAK 2215 - Graduate Scholarship for International Students. The authors thank Dr. Stuart James Lucas of Sabanci University Nanotechnology Research and Application Centre (SUNUM), Turkey for valuable comments and proof-reading of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Raheela Rehman, Muhammad Asif, Ismail Cakmak & Levent Ozturk

Authors
  1. Raheela Rehman
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  2. Muhammad Asif
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  3. Ismail Cakmak
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  4. Levent Ozturk
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Contributions

R.R. designed and conducted all experiments, analyzed the data, drafted the manuscript. M.A. helped in conducting the experiments and data analysis. I.C. conceived the idea, helped in experimental designs, and provided funding. L.O. conceptualized the study and critically revised the manuscript. All authors contributed critically to the drafts and gave final approval for publication.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Levent Ozturk.

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Responsible Editor: Miroslav Nikolic.

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Rehman, R., Asif, M., Cakmak, I. et al. Differences in uptake and translocation of foliar‐applied Zn in maize and wheat. Plant Soil 462, 235–244 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-04867-3

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