Effect of combination use of Zn and N fertilizers on yield and Zn content in winter wheat

A two-year experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of combination use of Zn and N fertilizers on growth and Zn content in 10 varieties of winter wheat in calcareous soils. Results show that the effects of sole application of Zn fertilizer and combination use of Zn and N fertilizers on yield and grain Zn content are significantly different among various varieties of winter wheat. Soil content of DTPA-Zn significantly increases in Zn or Zn and N fertilizers treatments. Zn significantly increases grain Zn content in “Xiza No. 1”, “Wunong148”, and “Zhengmai 9023”. Application of Zn and N increases grain Zn content by 7.3%~54.7% in 9 genotypes of wheat, excluding “Xiaoyan 22”. Zn fertilizer application does not significantly increase Zn uptake of wheat. However, the combination application of Zn and N increases Zn shoot content by 6.5% in the first year and by 29.8% in the second year of the experiment. N fertilization remarkably increases Zn uptake of wheat, but Zn accumulation is mainly in stems and leaves. In calcareous soils, Zn fertilizer application significantly increases soil DTPA-Zn content. However, the effect of Zn on yield and grain Zn content is insignificant. Combination use of Zn and N fertilizers in calcareous soils increase wheat yield and grain Zn content.