Seed priming with zinc sulfate and zinc chloride affects physio-biochemical traits, grain yield and biofortification of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum)
Abdul Rehman
A B * , Muhammad Farooq B C D , Aman Ullah E , Ahmad Nawaz E , Muhammad Moeen ud Din F and Babar Shahzad G
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, 63100 Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
B Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
C The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
D Department of Plant Sciences, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Alkhoud 123, Oman.
E Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI), Central and West Asia, Satellite Town, Rawalpindi, 46300, Pakistan.
F School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China.
G School of Land and Food, University of Tasmania, Hobart 7000, Tas., Australia.
Crop & Pasture Science 73(5) 449-460 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP21194
Submitted: 1 June 2021 Accepted: 24 August 2021 Published: 16 February 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing
Abstract
Zinc deficiency impedes wheat productivity and is major cause of malnutrition in humans consuming wheat products low in Zn, especially in developing countries, which experience low rates of soil and foliar Zn application owing to high cost of chemical Zn fertilisers. This pot study was conducted to evaluate the potential of seed priming with Zn for improving performance and grain biofortification of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Seeds of wheat cultivars Faisalabad-2008 and Lasani-2008 received one of four Zn treatments involving soaking in aerated solutions of ZnCl2 (0.05 or 0.1 M Zn) or ZnSO4 (0.1 or 0.5 M Zn); untreated seeds were taken as a control. All Zn seed priming treatments improved wheat performance. Seed priming with 0.1 M ZnCl2 advanced seedling emergence, whereas seed priming with 0.5 M ZnSO4 improved leaf elongation/expansion, chlorophyll content, shoot Zn concentration and plant photosynthetic traits. Seed priming with 0.1 and 0.5 M ZnSO4 improved plant water relations. Moreover, seed priming with 0.5 M ZnSO4 improved grain yield (63.1%), and grain Zn concentration (43.1%) and content (93.1%), with low [phytate]:[Zn] compared with non-primed seeds. Faisalabad-2008 performed better than Lasani-2008. In conclusion, seeds of bread wheat may be primed with 0.5 M ZnSO4 as a Zn source for improving plant physiology, yield and grain biofortification.
Keywords: biofortification, chlorophyll, hidden hunger, photosynthesis, phytate, seed priming, yield components, zinc.
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