Author(s):

Prashantkumar S Hanjagi and Bhupinder Singh

Abstract: Declining soil fertility, imbalanced and non-judicious application of major fertilizers, decreasing crop productivity and produce quality and malnutrition among burgeoning human population are some of the major challenges of the present time. An experiment was conducted to assess role of N nutrition of wheat crop on efficiency for plant micronutrient uptake and their subsequent accumulation in the grain. The study involved measuring the effect of varying level fertilizer N application (N0, N120, N150 and N200 kg N ha-1) on root uptake, shoot partitioning and grain accumulation of iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) in two bread wheat cultivars HD 2967 and DPW 621-50. N fertilizer application, in general, bettered plant vigor as evident from high root and shoot mass, root surface area and flag leaf area of N fertilized plants than those maintained without N. Fertilizer N application improved plant N status and shoot and grain concentration of Fe and Zn, more so in a dose dependant manner. Root to shoot and shoot to grain translocation efficiency for Fe and Zn increased with increasing availability of soil N. Higher biomass production with N fertilization led to a dilution effect on Fe and Zn concentration and caused a reduction in nutrient use efficiency for Fe, Zn and N with N than without N treatment. The concentration of these microelements in wheat shoot and grain increased with increasing N fertilizer application, reaching the highest at N150. Further, increase in N availability did not significantly improve the grain micronutrients. These results indicate that fertilizer N management of crops is critical determinant of Fe and Zn accumulation in the grain. Improved sink demand and efficient retranslocation of micronutrients at high N availability could be the underlying operative mechanisms responsible for agronomic biofortification.

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