Published in Scientific Papers. Series A. Agronomy, Vol. LXVI, Issue 1
Written by Irina-Ramona MORARU, Andrei VRÎNCEANU, Mihaela LUNGU, Anca-Rovena LĂCĂTUȘU
The article presents the experimental results obtained in the greenhouse to demonstrate the efficacy of administering zinc to the soil, plant, and seed in order to reduce the incidence of zinc deficiency in maize. For the experimentation in vegetation pots, a late hybrid FAO 430 and an organo-mineral material constituted from topsoil originating from a soil of the calcaric chernozem type, characteristic of the south-eastern region of Romanian Plain which received different treatments with CaCO3, KH2PO4 and ZnSO4·7H2O, were used. At 3 to10 days intervals, phenological observations were made on maize plants, and at the end of the experiment, soil and plant samples were collected and analysed in the laboratory. According to obtained data, the most effective method for biofortification of plants with zinc, among the three methods of administration, was the application of zinc to seed. According to an analysis of the absorption of nutritional elements by maize plants, it can be stated that the administration of the microelement both in soil and on seed are optimal methods for biofortifying maize plant with zinc, with practically identical performance.
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