Cultivar-specific accumulation of iron, manganese, zinc and copper in winter wheat grain (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

To ensure safe food production, cultivar specificity of mineral nutrition in winter wheat was studied in order to determine genotypic differences in the accumulation of several selected microelements (Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu). Soil properties, plant species and genotypes were found to be major factors affecting the uptake of microelements by wheat plants. The application of NPK fertilizers, manure and lime resulted in a decrease in Fe, Mn and Zn contents, but the decrease was not below the concentrations that would make the plants suffer from nutrient deficiencies. In all treatments, the ratio Fe/Mn was <1.5, indicating that iron was not physiologically active, due to which its function was taken over by manganese. The analysis of variance showed highly significant effects of cultivar and fertilization on grain yield and 1,000-grain weight.

Keywords

• cultivar specificity
• fertilization
• microelements
• wheat