Application of Zinc Fertilizer and Mycorrhizal Inoculation on Physio-Biochemical Parameters of Wheat Grown under Water-Stressed Environment

Syeda Fasiha Amjad, Nida Mansoora, Israr Ud Din, Rana Khalid Iqbal, Ghulam Hussain Jatoi, Ghulam Murtaza, Samia Yaseen, Maliha Naz, Subhan Danish, Shah Fahad and Rahul Datta
Additional contact information
Syeda Fasiha Amjad: Department of Botany, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Nida Mansoora: Department of Botany, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Israr Ud Din: Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Peshawar 25130, Pakistan
Rana Khalid Iqbal: Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan
Ghulam Hussain Jatoi: Department of Agriculture, Mir Chakar Khan Rind University Sibi Balochistan Pakistan, Sibi 82000, Pakistan
Ghulam Murtaza: Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
Samia Yaseen: Department of Botany, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Maliha Naz: Department of Botany, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Subhan Danish: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan
Shah Fahad: Hainan Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Tropical Bioresource, College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Rahul Datta: Department of Geology and Pedology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 1, 61300 Brno, Czech Republic

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 19, 1-14

Abstract: Drought stress and poor zinc (Zn) are major constraints for commercial agriculture. Their detrimental effects significantly decrease crop’s growth and yield. Less water uptake disturbs the metabolic processes in plants. However, the deficiency of Zn leads to the inactivation of many enzymes. It is well documented that cereal crops, especially wheat, are susceptible to drought and Zn deficiency. Scientists suggest the supplementation of Zn along bio-fertilizers for the sustainable management of these issues. That is why the current experiment was conducted to explore the best combination of Zn and bio-fertilizer for wheat. There were two different recommended concentrations of Zn sulfate (Zinc level 1 (Zn1) = 20 and Zinc level 2 (Zn2) = 40 kg ha −1 ) applied under normal irrigation (75% field capacity = FC) and severe drought stress (40% FC). Sole and combined inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AM) with Zn1 and Zn2 was also performed. Osmotic stress (40% FC) significantly decreased the examined growth parameters. It also significantly enhanced antioxidant and oxidative indicators in wheat. A significant increase in root fresh weight, root dry weight, and shoot length while a significant decrease in EL, SOD, POD over the control validated the efficacious role of Zn2 + AM. It is concluded that Zn2 + AM can improve wheat root fresh weight and root length wheat under 40% FC. Under different climatic zones, wheat varieties, and soil types, more investigations are recommended to declare Zn2 + AM as the best amendment for improving wheat growth attributes under osmotic stress.

Keywords: mycorrhizal inoculation; antioxidants; wheat; zinc; osmotic stress (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/19/11007/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/19/11007/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:19:p:11007-:d:649754

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().