The effect of genotype and zinc on seedling growth in four wheat cultivars (T. aestivium L.)

F. Sonmez

Abstract: Effects of application of zinc (Zn) (0 and 10 mg kg-1 soil) and four genotypes (Bezostaja-I, Katea-I, Momtchill and Pehlivan) on accumulations in shoots and roots of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings were investigated in a pot experiment. After starting emergence, five harvests were made on 6, 12, 17, 22 and 27 days after emergence and, shoot and root growth were observed for each harvest date. According to results of the research, the diffences among wheat cultivars were mostly significant for all characters. Among cultivars, Momtchill and Pehlivan were durable for drought, Bezostaja-I and Katea-I were susceptible for drought. Zinc application resulted in increase in shoot dry matter production while it resulted in decreases rootlength, root dry weight, root/shoot ratio, root length density, and root growth rate. In the end of research, it was found that application of zinc (10 mg kg-1 soil) on these cultivars limited the root growth, encouraged the shoot growth and this may cause the deficiency of water and nutrients in dry conditions for these genotypes.

Keywords: root and shoot development; wheat; zinc

Date published: 2019-03-29