Ain Noor Ul, Naveed Muhammad, Hussain Azhar, Mumtaz Muhammad Zahid, Rafique Munazza, Bashir Muhammad Asaad, Alamri Saud, Siddiqui Manzer H
Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan.
China Pakistan Economic Corridor Unit/World Trade Organization Cell, Agriculture Department, Government of Punjab, Lahore 54000, Pakistan.
Plants (Basel). 2020 Oct 15;9(10):1375. doi: 10.3390/plants9101375.
Zinc (Zn) availability is limited in salt-affected soils due to high soil pH and calcium concentrations causing Zn fixation. The application of synthetic Zn fertilizer is usually discouraged due to the high cost and low Zn use efficiency. However, salt-tolerant Zn-solubilizing bacteria (ZSB) are capable of solubilizing fixed fractions of Zn and improving fertilizer use efficiency. In the current study, a product was formulated by coating urea with bioaugmented zinc oxide (ZnO) to improve wheat productivity under a saline environment. The promising ZSB strain sp. AZ6 was used for bioaugmentation on ZnO powder and termed as sp. AZ6-augmented ZnO (BAZ). The experiment was conducted in pots by applying urea granules after coating with BAZ, to evaluate its effects on wheat physiology, antioxidant activity, and productivity under saline (100 mM NaCl) and non-saline (0 mM NaCl) conditions. The results revealed that the application of BAZ-coated urea alleviated salt stress through improving the seed germination, plant height, root length, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, soil plant analysis development (SPAD) value, number of tillers and grains, spike length, spike weight, 1000-grain weight, antioxidant activity (APX, GPX, GST, GR, CAT, and SOD), and NPK contents in the straw and grains of the wheat plants. Moreover, it also enhanced the Zn contents in the shoots and grains of wheat by up to 29.1 and 16.5%, respectively, over absolute control, under saline conditions. The relationships and variation among all the studied morpho-physio and biochemical attributes of wheat were also studied by principal component (PC) and correlation analysis. Hence, the application of such potential products may enhance nutrient availability and Zn uptake in wheat under salt stress. Therefore, the current study suggests the application of BAZ-coated urea for enhancing wheat's physiology, antioxidant system, nutrient efficiency, and productivity effectively and economically.
由于土壤pH值高和钙浓度高导致锌固定，盐碱地中锌（Zn）的有效性有限。由于成本高和锌利用效率低，通常不鼓励施用合成锌肥。然而，耐盐解锌细菌（ZSB）能够溶解固定态的锌并提高肥料利用效率。在本研究中，通过用生物强化氧化锌（ZnO）包膜尿素来配制一种产品，以提高盐碱环境下小麦的生产力。将有前景的ZSB菌株 sp. AZ6用于ZnO粉末的生物强化，并称为 sp. AZ6强化ZnO（BAZ）。通过在花盆中施用包膜BAZ的尿素颗粒进行试验，以评估其在盐分（100 mM NaCl）和非盐分（0 mM NaCl）条件下对小麦生理、抗氧化活性和生产力的影响。结果表明，施用BAZ包膜尿素可通过提高种子发芽率、株高、根长、光合速率、蒸腾速率、气孔导度、土壤-植物分析发展（SPAD）值、分蘖数和籽粒数、穗长、穗重、千粒重、抗氧化活性（APX、GPX、GST、GR、CAT和SOD）以及小麦植株秸秆和籽粒中的氮磷钾含量来缓解盐胁迫。此外，在盐分条件下，与绝对对照相比，它还分别使小麦地上部和籽粒中的锌含量提高了29.1%和16.5%。还通过主成分（PC）和相关性分析研究了小麦所有研究的形态生理和生化特性之间的关系及变化。因此，施用这类有潜力的产品可能会提高盐胁迫下小麦的养分有效性和锌吸收。所以，本研究建议施用BAZ包膜尿素，以有效且经济地提高小麦的生理功能、抗氧化系统、养分效率和生产力。
