Inicio  /  Sustainability  /  Vol: 3 Núm: 3 Par: March (2011)  /  Artículo
ARTÍCULO
TITULO

The Soil Microbial Community and Grain Micronutrient Concentration of Historical and Modern Hard Red Spring Wheat Cultivars Grown Organically and Conventionally in the Black Soil Zone of the Canadian Prairies

Alison G. Nelson    
Sylvie A. Quideau    
Brenda Frick    
Pierre J. Hucl    
Dil Thavarajah    
M. Jill Clapperton and Dean M. Spaner    

Resumen

Micronutrient deficiencies in the diet of many people are common and wheat is a staple food crop, providing a carbohydrate and micronutrient source to a large percentage of the world?s population. We conducted a field study to compare five Canadian red spring wheat cultivars (released over the last century) grown under organic and conventional management systems for yield, grain micronutrient concentration, and soil phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profile. The organic system had higher grain Zn, Fe, Mg and K levels, but lower Se and Cu levels. There was no trend in the results to suggest that modern western Canadian hard red spring cultivars have lower grain micronutrient content than historical cultivars. Wheat cultivar choice is important for maximizing grain nutrient levels, which was influenced by management system. It is evident that the emphasis on elevated grain quality in the western Canadian hard red spring class has resulted in the retention of micronutrient quality characters. Three fungal PLFAs were indicators for the organic system, and all three of these indicators were positively correlated with grain Cu concentration. In the organic system, percent arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were negatively correlated with grain Zn and Fe concentrations, and positively correlated with grain Mn, Cu, K concentrations and grain yield. The organic system had higher levels of fungi in the soil, including arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Organic management practices appear to result in elevated levels of grain micronutrient concentration. The hard red spring breeding effort in and for the black soil zone of the northern Great Plains also appears to have led to no diminishment of grain micronutrient concentration. It is evident that both the agronomic system and breeding strategies in this region can be exploited for future increases in grain micronutrient concentration.

 Artículos similares

       
 
Emiliana Pandolfo, Anna Barra Caracciolo and Ludovica Rolando    
Hydrocarbons occur in fossil fuels such as crude oil and consist mainly of hydrogen and carbon. Although they are natural chemicals, crude oil refining results in commercial products with new physico-chemical properties, which can increase their complexi... ver más
Revista: Water

 
Huan Deng, Hongyan Wei, Lizhu Chen, Shujie Li, Hongxu Liu and Hai Lu    
Biochar is a widely available carbon-based material that has been used for soil remediation and sewage treatment. However, in recent years, biochar has received more attention as a conditioning agent to improve the dewatering performance of sewage sludge... ver más
Revista: Water

 
Fuxin Zheng, Yanguo Teng, Yuanzheng Zhai, Jingdan Hu, Junfeng Dou and Rui Zuo    
Since the 1990s, sandstone-type uranium in the northern basin of China has become the main target for mining. Uranium mining can cause a series of impacts on the environment. A conceptual model of the geo-environment for sandstone-type uranium in norther... ver más
Revista: Water

 
Qianwen Du, Dongli She, Yongchun Pan, Zhenqi Shi and Alimu Abulaiti    
The problem of global warming is becoming more and more serious. N2O is a potent greenhouse gas. Most current studies on dissolved N2O concentration have focused on inland freshwater and seawater while paying less attention to coastal agricultural catchm... ver más
Revista: Water

 
Marina Neves Merlo, Junior Cesar Avanzi, Lucas de Castro Moreira da Silva, Osnar Obede da Silva Aragão, Emerson Borghi, Fatima Maria de Souza Moreira, Michael Silveira Thebaldi, Álvaro Vilela de Resende, Marx Leandro Naves Silva and Bruno Montoani Silva    
Many researchers have reported relationships of physical and chemical properties with water erosion; however, little is known about microbiological properties in this context. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate soil properties in relation to ero... ver más
Revista: Water