https://doi.org/10.4081/ija.2021.1795

Seed priming with zinc improves field performance of maize hybrids grown on calcareous chernozem

Vol. 16 No. 3 (2021)
Submitted: 24 December 2020
Accepted: 18 April 2021
Published: 11 May 2021
Microelement, grain yield, zinc concentration.
Abstract Views: 1916
HTML: 163
PDF: 572
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

Delivery of micronutrients to plants through seed priming improves seedling vigour and increases crops yields. Two-year filed trial was conducted in PanÄevo, Serbia, with aim to study the effect of seed priming with zinc (Zn) on field performance of three maize hybrids on calcareous chernozem deficient in plant available Zn. Seed priming treatments were: control (without priming), water priming and priming with 4 mM zinc sulphate water solution. Seed priming had significant effect on early plant growth, plant height, yield components, grain yield and grain Zn concentration. Zn-priming promoted plant growth and increased final plant height. Across two growing seasons with contrasting precipitation and three tested maize hybrids, Zn-priming resulted in an average increase of grain yield by about 18% compared to control, and by about 8.4% compared to water priming. A significant relationship between plant growth parameters, grain yield components and grain yield was detected. Grain Zn concentration was increased by Zn-priming in two hybrids in the season with less precipitation and in one hybrid in the second season. The results imply that using the seeds with elevated Zn content can improve overall field performance of maize grown on calcareous chernozem.

Highlights
- Seed priming with Zn resulted in an average increase of maize grain yield by about 18% compared to control, and by about 8.4% compared to water priming.
- Zn-priming promoted plant growth and increased final plant height of three maize hybrids.
- Overall experiment plant growth parameters were correlated with grain yield components and grain yield.
- Overall effect of seed priming on grain Zn concentration was significant, but it was increased by Zn-priming in two hybrids.
- Using the seeds with elevated Zn content can improve overall field performance of maize grown on calcareous chernozem.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC
Ajouri A, Asgedom H, Becker M, 2004. Seed priming enhances germination and seedling growth of barley under conditions of P and Zn deficiency. J. Plant. Nutr. Soil Sci. 167:630-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.200420425
Alloway BJ, 2008. Zinc in soils and crop nutrition. 2nd edition. IZA and IFA, Brussels, Belgium and Paris, France.
Brkić D, Å imić Z, Zdunić A, Jambrović T, LedenÄan V, KovaÄević V, Kadar I, 2004. Genotypic variability of micronutrient element concentrations in maize kernels. Cereal Res. Commun. 32:107-12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03543287
Broadley M, Brown PI, Rengel Z, Zhao F, 2012. Function of nutrients: micronutrients. In Marschner, ed. Marschner’s mineral nutrition of higher plants. Academic Press, London, UK, pp. 191-248. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-384905-2.00007-8
Cakmak I, 2009. Enrichment of fertilizers with zinc: an excellent investment for humanity and crop production in India. J. Trace Elem. Med. Bio. 23:281-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2009.05.002
Cakmak I, Kalayci M, Ekiz H, Braun HJ, Yilmaz A, 1999. Zinc deficiency as an actual problem in plant and human nutrition in Turkey: a NATO-Science for Stability Project. Field Crop. Res. 60:175-88. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4290(98)00139-7
Chen XP, Zhang YQ, Tong YP, Xue YF, Liu DY, Zhang W, Deng Y, Meng QF, Yue SC, Yan P, Cui ZL, Shi XJ, Guo SW, Sun YX, Ye YL, Wang ZH, Jia LL, Ma WQ, He MR, Zhang XY, Kou CL, Li YT, Tan DS, Cakmak I, Zhang FS, Zou CQ, 2017. Harvesting more grain zinc of wheat for human health. Sci. Rep. 7:7016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-07484-2
Cooper CS, MacDonald PW, 1970. Energetics of early seedling growth in corn (Zea mays L.). Crop Sci. 10:136-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci1970.0011183X001000020003x
Esper Neto M, Britt DW, Lara LM, Cartwright A, dos Santos RF, Inoue TT, Batista MA, 2020. Initial development of corn seedlings after seed priming with nanoscale synthetic zinc oxide. Agronomy-Basel. 10:307. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10020307
Fageria NK, Filho MPB, Moreira A, Guimarães CM, 2009. Foliar fertilization of crop plants. J. Plant Nutr. 32:1044-64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01904160902872826
Foti R, Abureni K, Tigere A, Gotosa J, Gere J, 2008. The eficacy of different seed priming osmotica on the establishment of maize (Zea mays L.) caryopses. J. Arid Environ. 72:1127- 30. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2007.11.008
Garcia-Oliveira AL, Chander S, Ortiz R, Menkir A, Gedil M, 2018. Genetic basis and breeding perspectives of grain iron and zinc enrichment in cereals. Front. Plant Sci. 9:937. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2018.00937
Hacisalihogly G, 2020. Zinc (Zn): The last nutrient in the alphabet and shedding light on Zn efficiency for the future of crop production under suboptimal Zn. Plants 9:1471. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9111471
Haider MU, Hussain M, Farooq M, Nawaz A, 2020a. Zinc nutrition for improving the productivity and grain biofortification of mungbean. J. Soil Sci. Plant Nutr. 20:1321-35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-020-00215-z
Haider MU, Hussain M, Farooq M, Nawaz A, 2020b. Optimizing zinc seed priming for improving the growth, yield and grain biofortification of mungbean (Vigna radiata L.). J. Plant Nutr. 43:1438-46. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01904167.2020.1730895
Harris D, Rashid A, Miraj G, Arif M, Yunas M, 2008. ‘On-farm’ seed priming with zinc in chickpea and wheat in Pakistan. Plant Soil. 306:3-10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-007-9465-4
Harris D, Rashid A, Miraj G, Arif M, Shah H, 2007. ‘On-farm’ seed priming with zinc sulphate solution - A cost-effective way to increase the maize yields of resource-poor farmers. Field Crop. Res. 102:119-27. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2007.03.005
Hassan N, Irshad S, Saddiq M, Bashid S, 2019. Potential of zinc seed treatment in improving stand establishment, phenology, yield and grain biofortification of wheat. J. Plant Nutr. 42:1676-92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01904167.2019.1630429
Imran M, Boelt B, Mühling K-H, 2018. Zinc seed priming improves salt resistance in maize. J. Agron. Crop Sci. 204:390-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jac.12272
Imran M, Mahmood A, Römheld V, Neumann G, 2013. Nutrient seed priming improves seedling development of maize exposed to low root zone temperatures during early growth. Eur. J. Agron. 49:141-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2013.04.001
Imran M, Maria K, Römheld V, Neumann G, 2015. Impact of nutrient seed priming on germination, seedling development, nutritional status and grain yield of maize. J. Plant Nutr. 38:1803-21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01904167.2014.990094
Khokhar JS, Sareen S, Tyagi BS, Singh G, Wilson L, King I P, Young SD, Broadley MR, 2018. Variation in grain Zn concentration, and the grain ionome, in field-grown Indian wheat. PLoS One. 13:e0192026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192026
Liu H, Gan W, Rengel Z, Zhao P, 2016. Effects of zinc fertilizer rate and application method on photosynthetic characteristics and grain yield of summer maize. J. Soil Sci. Plant Nutr. 16:550-62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-95162016005000045
Ma D, Sun D, Wang C, Ding H, Qin H, Hou J, Huang X, Xie Y, Guo T, 2017. Physiological responses and yield of wheat plants in zinc-mediated alleviation of drought stress. Front. Plant Sci. 8:860. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.00860
Mageto EK, Lee M, Dhliwayo T, Palacios-Rojas N, San Vicente F, Burgueño J, Hallauer AR, 2020. An evaluation of kernel zinc in hybrids of elite quality protein maize (QPM) and non-QPM inbred lines adapted to the tropics based on a mating design. Agronomy-Basel. 10:695. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10050695
Manojlović M, Singh BR, 2012. Trace elements in soils and food chains of the Balkan region. Acta Agr. Scand. Section B-S P. 62:673-95. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09064710.2012.690445
Mattiello EM, Ruiz HA, Neves JCL, Ventrella MC, Araújo WL, 2015. Zinc deficiency affects physiological and anatomical characteristics in maize leaves. J. Plant Physiol. 183:138-43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2015.05.014
Maze P, 1914. Influences respective des elements de la solution minérale sur le development du mais. Ann. Inst. Pasteur. 28:21-68.
Mohsin AU, Ahmad AU H, Farooq M, Ullah S, 2014. Influence of zinc application through seed treatment and foliar spray on growth, productivity and grain quality of hybrid maize. J. Anim. Plant Sci. 24:1494-503.
Moshfeghi N, Heidari M, Asghari HR, Baradaran Firoz Abadi M, Abbott LK, Chen Y, 2019. Effect of zinc foliar application and mycorrhizal inoculation on morpho-physiological traits and yield parameters of two barley cultivars. Ital. J. Agron.14:67-77. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/ija.2019.1354
Nikolic M, Nikolic N, Kostic Lj, Pavlovic J, Bosnic P, Stevic N, Savic J, Hristov N, 2016. The assessment of soil availability and wheat grain status of zinc and iron in Serbia: implications for human nutrition. Sci. Tot. Environ. 553:141-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.02.102
Prom-u-thai C, Rerkasem B, Yazici A, Cakmak I, 2012. Zinc priming promotes seed germination and seedling vigor of rice. J. Plant Nutri. Soil Sci. 175:482-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.201100332
Rehman A, Farooq A, Ahmad R, Basra SMA, 2015. Seed priming with zinc improves the germination and early seedling growth of wheat. Seed Sci. Technol. 43:262-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15258/sst.2015.43.2.15
Rengel Z, 2015. Availability of Mn, Zn and Fe in the rhizosphere. J. Soil Sci. Plant Nutr. 15:397-409. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-95162015005000036
Sharifi R, Mohammadi K, Rokhzadi A, 2016. Effect of seed priming and foliar application with micronutrients on quality of forage corn (Zea mays). Environ. Exp. Biol. 14:151-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22364/eeb.14.21
Subedi DM, Ma BL, 2005. Seed priming does not improve corn yield in a humid temperate environment. Agr. J. 97:211-8.
Tabesh M, Kiani S, Khoshgoftarmanesh AH, 2020. The effectiveness of seed priming and foliar application of zinc- amino acid chelates in comparison with zinc sulfate on yield and grain nutritional quality of common bean. J. Plant Nutr. 43:2106-16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01904167.2020.1771579
Welch RM, 1986. Effects of nutrient deficiencies on seed production and quality. Adv. Plant Nutr. 2:205-47.
Yilmaz A, Ekiz H, Torun B, Gultekin I, Karanlik S, Bagci SA, Cakmak I, 1997. Effect of different zinc application methods on grain yield and zinc concentration in wheat cultivars grown on zinc-deficient calcareous soils. J. Plant Nutr. 20:461-71. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01904169709365267
Zhao QY, Xu SJ, Zhang WS, Zhang Z, Yao Z, Chen XP, Zou CQ, 2020. Identifying key drivers for geospatial variation of grain micronutrient concentrations in major maize production regions of China. Environ. Pollut. 266:115114. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115114

How to Cite

Tamindžić, G., Ignjatov, M. ., Milošević, D., Nikolić, Z., Kostić Kravljanac, L. ., Jovičić, D., Dolijanović, Željko, & Savić, J. (2021). Seed priming with zinc improves field performance of maize hybrids grown on calcareous chernozem. Italian Journal of Agronomy, 16(3). https://doi.org/10.4081/ija.2021.1795
Copyright (c) 2021 The Author(s) Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.