Boron uptake and toxicity in wheat in relation to zinc supply

Abstract

Zinc deficiency may enhance B absorption and transport to such an extent that B may possibly accumulate to toxic levels in plant tops. Therefore, a screen house experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of B levels (0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10 mg B kg⁻¹ soil) as influenced by Zn levels (0, 10 and 20 mg Zn kg⁻¹ soil) on DM yield of wheat tops and tissue concentration and uptake of B, Zn, Cu, Mn, Fe, Ca, Mg, K and P. Application of B decreased the dry matter yield of wheat significantly at all levels of Zn. Conversely, increasing levels of Zn increased the wheat yield significantly. The application of B increased the tissue concentration and uptake of B by wheat plants more in the absence than in the presence of Zn application. Consequently, concentration of B in wheat plants decreased with increasing levels of Zn application to the soil. This decrease in tissue B concentration was not only due to increased growth of wheat plants. Zinc application appears to have created a protective mechanism in the root cell environment against excessive uptake of B, as evidenced by the reduction of B uptake in Zn treated plants. The uptake of Mn, Mg and P decreased while the uptake of Cu, Fe, and K by wheat plants increased with Zn application. Whereas, the uptake of all nutrients (Cu, Fe, Mn, Ca, Mg, K and P) decreased significantly with the application of B. However, this depressive effect of B on nutrient uptake was less marked in the presence of applied Zn.