Status of Zinc Content in Soils and Rice Genotypes and its Relationship with Soil Chemical Properties across different Agro-Climatic Zones of Karnataka, South India

Abstract— Background and Aims: Billions of people suffer from Zn deficiency globally. Rice, being an important source of Zn in the diet, a study was carried out to access the status of Zn in soils and rice genotypes and also study the relationship of soil pH, OC and DTPA-Zn with Zn content in grain and straw of rice. Methods: A total of 244 rice and soil samples comprising 64 different rice genotypes were collected from eight agro-climatic zones of Karnataka. The status of Zn in rice and soils were analyzed. Results: The results revealed that DTPA-Zn content in soil ranged from 0.2 to 4.5 mg kg-1 across eight ACZ. The grain and straw Zn content of 244 rice samples comprising of 64 rice genotypes ranged from 7.8 to 51.3 mg kg-1 and 16.6 to 284.0 mg kg-1, respectively. The Zn content of grain and straw was positive significantly correlated with OC and DTPA-Zn whereas negative significantly correlated with soil pH. Conclusion: The problem of low Zn content in rice may be overcome through proper understanding of the relationship between the rice plant and soil chemical properties such as soil pH, DTPA-Zn and OC and adoption of proper management practices accordingly.