Uptake Efficiency of Iron in Different Wheat Varieties

Abstract

With due attention to the low availability of iron in calcareous soils and different ability of plant species in iron acquisition, the study and identification of iron-efficient plants is necessary to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers. In this way, a greenhouse experiment was conducted to study of iron uptake efficiency in different wheat varieties, as a randomized complete blocks design with factorial arrangement. Treatments consisted of three levels of Fe (0, 2 and 6 mg kg-1) and three varieties of wheat (Falat ٫Parsi ٫Pishtaz) with three replications. The results showed that iron application had no effect on shoot dry weight and iron uptake in Parsi and Pishtaz varieties, but increased those in the Falat variety. The study of influx and root-shoot ratio, which are two important factors in the iron uptake by plant, showed that the Parsi and Pishtaz varieties had higher influx than the Falat variety. In the Parsi variety as well as influx, the root length had an important role in iron uptake efficiency. In the Falat variety with increasing amounts of iron uptake, relative shoot dry weight, influx and root-shoot ratio were increased. Therefore, the Falat variety in comparison to two other varieties was not an iron efficient plant. Lack of response to Fe fertilizer in the Pishtaz and Parsi varieties indicated some other specific uptake mechanisms were involved at low Fe levels in soil. Finally, the results showed that the Pishtaz and Parsi varieties were more efficient in iron uptake than Falat variety.

Keywords

• Fertilizer
• Influx
• Iron efficiency
• Efficient plants
• Wheat varieties