Mo-Inefficient Wheat Response Toward Molybdenum Supply in Terms of Soil Phosphorus Availability

• Published in: Journal of soil science and plant nutrition Vol. 20; no. 3; pp. 1560 - 1573
• Main Authors: Rana, Muhammad Shoaib, Sun, Xuecheng, Imran, Muhammad, Khan, Zaid, Moussa, Mohamed G., Abbas, Muhammad, Bhantana, Parashuram, Syaifudin, Muhamad, Din, Intisar Ud, Younas, Muhammad, Shah, Md Ashrafuzzaman, Afzal, Javaria, Hu, Chengxiao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.09.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acid phosphatase; Acidic soils; Agriculture; Analytical chemistry; Anatomy; Availability; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Chloroplasts; Crop growth; Crop yield; Ecology; Environment; Enzymatic activity; Enzymes; Fertilization; Fertilizer application; Fertilizers; Gene expression; Leaves; Life Sciences; Mesophyll; Molybdenum; Original Paper; Phosphatase; Phosphorus; Phytase; Plant anatomy; Plant biomass; Plant cuticle; Plant Sciences; Rhizosphere; Sodium bicarbonate; Soil microorganisms; Soil Science & Conservation; Soils; Stomata; Ultrastructure; Wheat; China; P fractions; P enzymes; Chloroplast ultrastructure; Molybdenum; Leaf anatomy; P assimilation
• ISSN: 0718-9508; 0718-9516
• DOI: 10.1007/s42729-020-00298-8

Phosphorus (P) deficiency is a major constraint to crop growth due to strong soil P fixation. The effects of molybdenum (Mo) on leaf anatomy and dynamics of rhizosphere P in Mo-inefficient crops have still not been investigated. A field study was conducted to investigate the effects of long-term fertilization on dynamics of rhizosphere P transformations and leaf anatomy in Mo-inefficient wheat consisting of Mo (+Mo) and without Mo applied (−Mo) treatments. The results revealed that Mo supply increased plant biomass, grain yield, uptake of P and Mo by 34.9%, 14.8%, 98.1% and 654.1% respectively and preserved the leaf cuticle, stomata, chloroplast, and mesophyll tissue cell configuration. Molybdenum application significantly increased the concentration of radially available P fractions [NaHCO 3 -Pi (115.5 to 129.8 mg kg −1 and 67.4 to 80.7 mg kg −1 ) and H 2 O-Pi (14.4–21.9 mg kg −1 and 4.63–6.40 mg kg −1 )] in rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils, respectively. The acid phosphatase (ACP) activity (19.5 μmol day −1  g −1 ) was highest during March as compared to alkaline (ALP) and phytase (PHY) enzymes in the rhizosphere soil of +Mo treatment. The highest expression of gene lppC (6.11) was observed in rhizosphere soil as compared to non-rhizosphere soil which indicated that higher gene expressions induced the higher P enzymatic activities. Our findings suggest that Mo fertilizer application increases P availability through induced alteration in dynamics of rhizosphere soil P fractions, higher P and Mo assimilation and phosphatases enzymes activities along with preserving the leaf anatomy and ultrastructure of Mo-inefficient wheat.