Abstract
The development of rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars with a higher Zn content in their grains has been suggested as a way to alleviate Zn malnutrition in human populations subsisting on rice in their daily diets. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of native soil Zn status and fertilizer application on Zn concentrations in grains of five rice genotypes that had previously been identified as either high or low in grain Zn. Genotypes were grown in field trials at four sites ranging in native soil-Zn status from severely deficient to high in plant available Zn. At each site a −Zn plot was compared to a +Zn plot fertilized with 15 kg Zn ha−1. Results showed that native soil Zn status was the dominant factor to determine grain Zn concentrations followed by genotype and fertilizer. Depending on soil-Zn status, grain Zn concentrations could range from 8 mg kg−1 to 47 mg kg−1 in a single genotype. This strong location effect will need to be considered in estimating potential benefits of Zn biofortification. Our data furthermore showed that it was not possible to simply compensate for low soil Zn availability by fertilizer applications. In all soils fertilizer Zn was taken up as seen by a 50–200% increase in total plant Zn content. However, in more Zn deficient soils this additional Zn supply improved straw and grain yield and increased straw Zn concentrations by 43–95% but grain Zn concentrations remained largely unchanged with a maximum increase of 6%. Even in soils with high Zn status fertilizer Zn was predominantly stored in vegetative tissue. Genotypic differences in grain Zn concentrations were significant in all but the severely Zn deficient soil, with genotypic means ranging from 11 to 24 mg kg−1 in a Zn deficient soil and from 34 to 46 mg kg−1 in a high Zn upland soil. Rankings of genotypes remained largely unchanged from Zn deficient to high Zn soils, which suggests that developing high Zn cultivars through conventional breeding is feasible for a range of environments. However, it may be a challenge to develop cultivars that respond to Zn fertilizer with higher grain yield and higher grain Zn concentrations when grown in soils with low native Zn status.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Breemen NV, Quijano CC, Sen LN (1980) Zinc deficiency in wetland rice along a toposequence of hydromorphic soils in the Philippines. I. Soil conditions and hydrology. Plant Soil 57:203–214
Brown KH, Wuehler SE (2000) Zinc and human health: results of recent trials and implications for program interventions and research. The Micronutrient Initiative, Ottawa, Canada
Dobermann A, Fairhurst TH (2000) Nutrient disorders and nutrient management. Potash and Phosphate Institute, Potash and Phosphate Institute of Canada and International Rice Research Institute, Singapore
Duxbury JM, Bodruzzaman M, Johnson SE, Lauren JG, Meisner CA, Welch RM (2006) Opportunities and constraints for addressing human mineral micronutrient malnutrition through soil management. 18th World Congress of Soil Science, July 9–15, 2006, Philadelphia, USA. http://crops.confex.com/crops/wc2006/techprogram/P17411.HTM
Gladeshev VN, Kryukov GV, Fomenko DE, Hatfield DL (2004) Identification of trace element-containing proteins in genomic databases. Annu Rev Nutr 24:579–596
Graham RD, Welch RM, Bouis HE (2007) Nutritious subsistence food systems. Adv Agron 92:1–74
Graham R, Senadhira D, Beebe S, Iglesias C, Monasterio I (1999) Breeding for micronutrient density in edible portions of staple food crops: conventional approaches. Field Crops Res 60:57–80
Gregorio GB (2002) Progress in breeding for trace minerals in staple crops. J Nutr 132:500S–502S
Hotz C, Brown KH (2004) International Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group (IZiNCG). Technical document #1. Assessment of the risk of zinc deficiency in populations and options for its control. Food Nutr Bull 25:S91–S203
Loneragan JF, Grove TS, Robson AD, Snowball K (1979) Phosphorus toxicity as a factor in zinc–phosphorus interactions in plants. Soil Sci Soc Am J 43:966–972
Nestel P, Bouis HE, Meenakshi JV, Pfeiffer W (2006) Biofortification of staple food crops. J Nutr 136:1064–1067
Neue HU, Quijano C, Senadhira D, Setter T (1998) Strategies for dealing with micronutrient disorders and salinity in lowland rice systems. Field Crops Res 56:139–155
Qadar A (2002) Selecting rice genotypes tolerant to zinc deficiency and sodicity stresses. I. Differences in zinc, iron, manganese, copper, phosphorus concentrations, and phosphorus/zinc ratio in their leaves. J Plant Nutr 25:457–473
Quijano-Guerta C, Kirk GJD, Portugal AM, Bartolome VI, McLaren GC (2002) Tolerance of rice germplasm to zinc deficiency. Field Crops Res 76:123–130
Rashid A, Kausar MA, Hussain F, Tahir M (2000) Managing zinc deficiency in transplanted flooded rice by nursery enrichment. Trop Agric 77:156–162
Reed ST, Martens DC (1996) Copper and zinc. In: Sparks DL et al (eds) Methods of soil analysis. Part 3 – Chemical methods. SSSA Book Series no.5. Soil Science Society of America, Inc, Madison, WI, pp 707–709
Rengel Z, Graham RD (1995) Importance of seed Zn content for wheat growth on Zn-deficient soil. Plant Soil 173:267–274
Scharpenseel HW, Eichwald E, Haupenthal C, Neue HU (1983) Zinc deficiency in a soil toposequence, grown to rice, at Tiaong, Quezon Province, Philippines. Catena 10:115–132
Singh B, Natesan SKA, Singh RK, Usha K (2005) Improving zinc efficiency of cereals under zinc deficiency. Curr Sci 88:36–84
Swarup A (1993) Iron, zinc and manganese nutrition of wetland rice (Oryza sativa L.) on a gypsum amended sodic soil. Plant Soil 155/156:477–480
United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition (SCN) (2004) 5th Report on the World Nutrition Situation Nutrition for Improved Development Outcomes. SCN, Geneva
Welch RM (1999) Importance of seed mineral nutrient reserves in crop growth and development. In: Rengel Z (ed) Mineral nutrition of crops: fundamental mechanisms and implications. Food Products Press, Binghamton, USA, pp 205–226
Welch RM (2002) Breeding strategies for biofortified staple plant foods to reduce micronutrient malnutrition globally. J Nutr 132:495S–499S
White JG, Zasoski RJ (1999) Mapping soil micronutrients. Field Crops Res 60:11–26
Wissuwa M, Ismail AM, Yanagihara S (2006) Effects of zinc deficiency on rice growth and genetic factors contributing to tolerance. Plant Phys 142:731–741
Yilmaz A, Ekiz H, Gültekin I, Torun B, Barut H, Karanlik S, Cakmak I (1998) Effect of seed zinc content on grain yield and zinc concentration of wheat grown in zinc-deficient calcareous soils. J Plant Nutr 21:2257–2264
Acknowledgment
We thank Sarah Johnson Beebout (IRRI) for providing data on soil Zn analysis and for her input in the design of field experiments. Excellent technical support from Ricardo Eugenio, Rochelle Zantua and Jack Deodato Jacob (at IRRI) is gratefully acknowledged.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Ismail Cakmak.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wissuwa, M., Ismail, A.M. & Graham, R.D. Rice grain zinc concentrations as affected by genotype, native soil-zinc availability, and zinc fertilization. Plant Soil 306, 37–48 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-007-9368-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-007-9368-4