Impact of zinc uptake on morphology, physiology and yield attributes of wheat in Pakistan

Abstract

A pot experiment was conducted in the Old Botanical Garden, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, to assess the effect of zinc uptake on morphological, physiological and yield attributes of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Two varieties of wheat, i.e. W-141 and W-142, procured from Ayub Agricultural Research Institute (AARI), Faisalabad, Pakistan, were used during this study. The soil used during experiment was field soil from university fields having sandy loam texture. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD) with five treatments and four replicates. Different treatments of zinc were applied on different intervals. After 25 and 35 days of germination, the plants were subjected to three levels of ZnSO4 (0, 400 mgL-1, 600 mgL-1). During the experiment, the harvests were taken after 10 days of intervals for morphological and physiological analysis. After the maturity of plants, final harvest was taken and yield attributes were recorded. Data of various morphological, physiological and yield attributes were statistically analyzed. The results showed that zinc toxicity had adverse effects on the wheat varieties. The variety W-141 was a little bit tolerant to zinc toxicity, as per shown by the results, as compared to W-142, which suffered by the toxicity of zinc. It was also revealed by the results that zinc affects the morphological, physiological and yield attributes of wheat when applied in toxic concentration.