Foliar zinc fertilization in soybean

BUSTOS ANA NATALIA; ALVAREZ, C; WYNGAARD, NICOLÁS; EYHERABIDE, MERCEDES; BARBIERI, PABLO ANDRÉS; SAINZ ROZAS, HERNÁN RENÉ

Simposio; GLOBAL SYMPOSIUM ON SOILS FOR NUTRITION; 2022

Zinc deficiency in humans results from the low soil Zn availability and the consequent Zn deficit in staple food crops (Cakmak et al., 2017). It is estimated that about one-third of cultivated soils globally contain low amounts of available Zn (Alloway, 2008). Zinc deficiencies have become widespread in soils from the Argentine Pampas Region (RPA) (Sainz Rozas et al., 2019). In this region, soybean (Glycine max L.) is the main crop, occupying more than half of the total cropped area. However, limited information is available regarding the effectiveness of foliar Zn fertilization for improving soybean Zn grain concentration. The aim of this study was to assess the response of soybean grain yield and Zn grain concentration (ZnCg) to foliar Zn application and evaluate the use of ZnCg as a Zn complementary diagnostic tool in soybean.