Biofortification of Silage Maize with Zinc, Iron and Selenium as Affected by Nitrogen Fertilization
Agronomic biofortification is one of the main strategies for alleviation of micronutrient deficiencies in human populations and promoting sustainable production of food and feed. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of nitrogen (N)fertilization on biofortification of maize crop ( L.)...
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Published in | Plants (Basel) Vol. 10; no. 2; p. 391 |
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Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Switzerland
MDPI AG
18.02.2021
MDPI |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Agronomic biofortification is one of the main strategies for alleviation of micronutrient deficiencies in human populations and promoting sustainable production of food and feed. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of nitrogen (N)fertilization on biofortification of maize crop (
L.) with zinc (Zn), iron (Fe) and selenium (Se) grown on a micronutrient deficient soil under greenhouse conditions. Factorial design experiment was set under greenhouse conditions. The experiment consisted of two levels of each N, Zn, Fe and Se. The levels for N were 125 and 250 mg N kg
soil; Zn were 1 and 5 mg Zn kg
soil; levels of Fe were 0 and 10 mg Fe kg
soil; levels of Se were 0 and 0.02 mg Se kg
soil. An additional experiment was also conducted to study the effect of the Zn form applied as a ZnO or ZnSO
on shoot growth, shoot Zn concentration and total shoot Zn uptake per plant. Shoot Zn concentrations increased by increasing soil Zn application both with ZnSO
and ZnO treatments, but the shoot Zn concentration and total Zn uptake were much greater with ZnSO
than the ZnO application. Under given experimental conditions, increasing soil N supply improved shoot N concentration; but had little effect on shoot dry matter production. The concentrations of Zn and Fe in shoots were significantly increased by increasing N application. In case of total uptake of Zn and Fe, the positive effect of N nutrition was more pronounced. Although Se soil treatment had significant effect, N application showed no effect on Se concentration and accumulation in maize shoots. The obtained results show that N fertilization is an effective tool in improving the Zn and Fe status of silage maize and contribute to the better-quality feed. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 2223-7747 2223-7747 |
DOI: | 10.3390/plants10020391 |