Screening Rice Varities for Higher Zn Efficiency in Paddy Field

To counteract the widespread negative effects of zinc deficiency on rice yield and the health of the majority of people who depend on this crop for nutrition, it will be necessary and effective to find cultivars resistant to zinc deficiency. For this purpose, field experiments during the crop years of 1396 and 1397 in farm located in the village of Pas-visheh, Rasht city, Gilan province,  A two factors split plot experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications. Experimental factors include soil application of zinc sulfate fertilizer as the main plot in two levels (0 and 20 kg  ha-1 zinc sulfate) and cultivar as a sub-plot in 27 levels (including local and improved cultivars and promising lines). The results showed that the Zn application  and its interaction with  cultivar waere significant for all measured  traits except the length and width of the flag leaf. The lowest and highest values ​​of zinc uptake in plant organs in the treatment of non-application of zinc sulfate belonged to line RI18430-2 (Hashemi × Saleh) and Kadous cultivar, respectively. Comparison of the mean of treatments showed that the lowest and highest zinc uptake in plant organs in the treatment of zinc sulfate application belonged to two lines RI18432-2 (Mohammadi × Saleh) and RI18431-1 (Abji Boji × Saleh), respectively and three cultivars or lines that have the highest zinc uptake in plant organs in the application of 20 kg / ha of zinc sulfate are RI18432-2 (Mohammadi × Saleh) and RI18430-22 (Hashemi × Saleh) and Ahlemi-Tarom cultivar, respectively. The results of the GGbiPlot analysis  showed that in both levels of zinc (control and application of 20 kg per hectare of zinc sulfate) Gohar, Kadous and Caspian cultivars have been ranked 1 to 3 in terms of Zn efficiency. Saleh, Dilmani, Gilaneh and RI18430-1 (Hashemi × Saleh) cultivars were also ranked as high Zn efficient cultivars and line in both levels. Therefore, for future research works, these cultivars are suitable for cultivattion on Zn deficiency paddy soils or selection of  higher Zn uptake cultivar(s) for rice grain quality purpose.