Effect of Zinc-Phosphorus Interaction on Corn Silage Grown on Sandy Soil

Saad Drissi, Abdelhadi Aït Houssa, Ahmed Bamouh, Jean-Marie Coquant and Mohamed Benbella
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Saad Drissi: Plant Production, Protection and Biotechnology Department, Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Sciences (IAV Hassan II), Rabat 10101, Morocco
Abdelhadi Aït Houssa: Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, National Agricultural School of Meknes (ENAM), Meknes 50001, Morocco
Ahmed Bamouh: Plant Production, Protection and Biotechnology Department, Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Sciences (IAV Hassan II), Rabat 10101, Morocco
Jean-Marie Coquant: Moroccan Laboratory of Agriculture (LABOMAG), Casablanca 20000, Morocco
Mohamed Benbella: Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, National Agricultural School of Meknes (ENAM), Meknes 50001, Morocco

Agriculture, 2015, vol. 5, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: This study investigated the response of corn silage to different combinations of zinc (Zn) and phosphorus (P) soil supply when grown in sandy soil. The soil was naturally poor in extractable Zn and rich in plant-available P. The experiment was conducted in outdoor containers. The treatments consisted of soil supply combinations of 3 levels of Zn (0, 5 and 10 mg Zn kg −1 of dry soil) and 4 levels of P (0, 12, 36 and 72 mg P 2 O 5 kg −1 of dry soil). The results showed the absence of a significant effect (at p ≤ 0.05) of Zn-P interaction on plant growth, plant mineral content or total aerial dry weight at harvest. P application depressed Zn shoot content, and conversely, Zn supply slightly reduced P shoot content. The total aerial dry weight at harvest was not enhanced by P application. However, it was significantly increased by Zn supply of 5 mg·kg −1 only for the highest P (72 mg·kg −1 ) application (at p ≤ 0.05). This increase was around 15% compared to no Zn soil supply. It was especially linked to kernel dry weight and particularly to pollination rate. For the highest level of P supply, Zn applications significantly enhanced (at p ≤ 0.05) the kernel dry weight and the pollination rate by 22.1% and 38.4% respectively, compared to no Zn supply.

Keywords: zinc deficiency; phosphorus; corn silage; sandy soil (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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