ACTA AGRICULTURAE BOREALI-SINICA ›› 2019, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (5): 126-136. doi: 10.7668/hbnxb.20190387

Special Issue: Wheat Soil fertilizer Drought and water saving

• Tillage and Cultivation·Physiology and Biochemistry • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of Zinc Fertilizer on Root Growth and Yield of Winter Wheat under Drought Stress

ZHANG Jun1, LIANG Zhenkai1, WANG Xueping2, HU Lihong2, LI Youjun1   

  1. 1. College of Agriculture, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471000, China;
    2. Agricultural Bureau of Xinan County in Henan Province, Xin'an 471800, China
  • Received:2019-04-11 Published:2019-10-28

Abstract: Luohan 6 was used as the experimental material in a pot experiment to investigate the effects of zinc fertilizer on root growth and grain yield of winter wheat under drought stress. Four treatments were set up:T1 (normal irrgation+0 mg/kg Zn), T2 (normal irrgation+1 mg/kg Zn), T3 (drought stress+0 mg/kg Zn), and T4 (drought stress+1 mg/kg Zn). The results showed that, compared with T1, the total root length, root mean diameter, total root surface area and total root volume of wheat were noticeably reduced in T3 treatment. The density and diameter of root hair were dramatically decreased, but the difference of root hair length was not significant. The root hair structure was damaged by drought stress, of which the cell wall of root hair became thinner, no nucleus was seen, most of the organelles disintegrated, the inclusion disappeared, and the root hairs decayed. The contents of zinc and indoleacetic acid (IAA) in the root, as well as the root activity, decreased, which resulted in the marked decrease of grain yield per plant. Under T4 treatment, the total root length, root mean diameter, total root surface area and root volume increased observably compared to T3 treatment, and the density and diameter of root hair also increased greatly. The root hair structure was intact, the nucleus was clearly visible, the inclusion was sufficient, and the root hair developed well. In addition, the contents of zinc and IAA in the root, as well as the root activity, likewise ascended remarkably. Compared with T3, the spikes per plant, grain per spike, thousand kernel weight and grain yield per plant of T4 increased by 6.25%, 8.01%, 6.87% and 50.00%, respectively. Comprehensive analysis showed that under the ecological conditions of dryland in Western Henan, the application of zinc fertilizer can enhance the stability of wheat root growth and improve the development of wheat root. As a result, the application of zinc fertilizer has an important role in alleviating wheat yield reduction under drought stress.

Key words: Wheat, Root, Drought, Zinc fertilizer, Yield

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Cite this article

ZHANG Jun, LIANG Zhenkai, WANG Xueping, HU Lihong, LI Youjun. Effects of Zinc Fertilizer on Root Growth and Yield of Winter Wheat under Drought Stress[J]. ACTA AGRICULTURAE BOREALI-SINICA, 2019, 34(5): 126-136. doi: 10.7668/hbnxb.20190387.

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