Effect of Sulfur Fertilization on Productivity and Grain Zinc Yield of Rice Grown under Low and Adequate Soil Zinc Applications

doi:10.1016/j.rsci.2023.07.003

Abstract

Abstract:

This study aimed to investigate the responses in rice (Oryza sativa cv. Osmancik 97) production and grain zinc (Zn) accumulation to combined Zn and sulfur (S) fertilization. The experiment was designed as a factorial experiment with two Zn and three S concentrations applied to the soil in a completely randomized design with four replications. The plants were grown under greenhouse conditions at low (0.25 mg/kg) and adequate (5 mg/kg) Zn rates combined with S (CaSO₄·2H₂O) application (low, 2.5 mg/kg; moderate, 10 mg/kg, and adequate, 50 mg/kg). The lowest rate of S at adequate soil Zn treatment increased grain yield by 68% compared with the same S rate at low Zn supply. Plants with the adequate S rate at low Zn and adequate Zn supply produced the highest grain yield, with increases of 247% and 143% compared with low S rate at low Zn and adequate Zn supply, respectively. The concentration of grain Zn and S responded differently to the applied S rates depending on the soil Zn condition. The highest grain Zn concentration, reaching 41.5 mg/kg, was observed when adequate Zn was supplied at the low S rate. Conversely, the adequate S rate at the low soil Zn conditions yielded the highest grain S concentration. The total grain Zn uptake per plant showed particular increases in grain Zn yield when adequate S rates were applied, showing increases of 208% and 111% compared with low S rate under low and adequate soil Zn conditions, respectively. The results indicated that the synergistic application of soil Zn and S improves grain production and grain Zn yield. These results highlight the importance of total grain Zn yield in addition to grain Zn concentration, especially under the growth conditions where grain yield shows particular increases as grain Zn is diluted due to increased grain yield by increasing S fertilization.

Key words: grain, rice, sulfur, zinc deficiency

Kankunlanach Khampuang, Nanthana Chaiwong, Atilla Yazici, Baris Demirer, Ismail Cakmak, Chanakan Prom-U-Thai. Effect of Sulfur Fertilization on Productivity and Grain Zinc Yield of Rice Grown under Low and Adequate Soil Zinc Applications[J]. Rice Science, 2023, 30(6): 632-640.

Figures/Tables 5

Fig. 1. Plant appearance under low (0.25 mg/kg, LZ) and adequate (5 mg/kg, AZ) soil zinc concentrations, together with low (2.5 mg/kg, LS), moderate (10 mg/kg, MS) and adequate (50 mg/kg, AS) sulfur fertilizer rates.

Fig. 2. Grain yield (A) and straw dry weight (B) under low (0.25 mg/kg, LZ) and adequate (5 mg/kg, AZ) soil zinc concentrations, with low (2.5 mg/kg, LS), moderate (10 mg/kg, MS) and adequate (50 mg/kg, AS) sulfur fertilizer rates. Data are Mean ± SE (n = 4). Different letters above the bars indicate significant differences (LSD) at P ＜ 0.05.

Table 1. Yield components of rice grown under low (0.25 mg/kg) and adequate (5 mg/kg) soil zinc, with low (2.5 mg/kg), moderate (10 mg/kg), and adequate (50 mg/kg) sulfur fertilizer rates.

Treatment	Culm length (cm)	No. of tillers per plant	No. of panicles per plant	Percentage of filled grain (%)	1000-grain weight (g)
Low Zn + low S	79.95 de	2.3 c	1.5	68.2 c	26.90
Low Zn + moderate S	82.47 cd	2.3 c	2.1	88.1 ab	26.53
Low Zn + adequate S	91.23 b	2.5 c	2.3	91.0 a	29.30
Adequate Zn + low S	76.97 e	2.5 c	1.7	83.5 b	30.07
Adequate Zn + moderate S	86.90 bc	2.9 b	2.3	88.6 ab	32.80
Adequate Zn + adequate S	98.30 a	3.3 a	2.9	95.0 a	35.20
F-test
Zn treatment (Zn)	ns	**	*	*	**
S treatment (S)	**	**	*	**	**
Zn × S	*	*	ns	*	ns
LSD_0.05(Zn)	-	0.17	0.27	4.28	1.26
LSD_0.05(S)	3.57	0.21	0.33	5.24	1.54
LSD_0.05 (Zn × S)	5.10	0.30	-	7.41	-

Fig. 3. Grain zinc (Zn) concentration (A), grain sulfur (S) concentration (B), grain Zn yield (C) and grain S yield (D) grown under low (0.25 mg/kg, LZ) and adequate (5 mg/kg, AZ) soil Zn concentrations, with low (2.5 mg/kg, LS), moderate (10 mg/kg, MS) and adequate (50 mg/kg, AS) soil S fertilizer rates. Data are Mean ± SE (n = 4). Different letters above the bars indicate significant differences (LSD) at P ＜ 0.05.

Fig. 4. Relationships between grain zinc (Zn) concentration and grain yield (A), grain sulfur (S) concentration and grain yield (B), grain S concentration and grain Zn concentration (C), and grain S yield and grain Zn yield (D). ns, No significance. ** and ***, Significant correlations at the 0.01 and 0.001 levels, respectively.

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