Glycine-chelated zinc rather than glycine-mixed zinc has lower foliar phytotoxicity than zinc sulfate and enhances zinc biofortification in waxy corn.

To determine whether high spraying concentrations of Zn sources increase the Zn concentration in waxy corn (Zea mays L. var. ceratina Kulesh) seeds without compromising agronomic performance, field experiments were conducted between 2018 and 2020. Excess ZnSO ₄ application caused foliar burn, barren ear tip, and grain yield loss. ZnEDTA and Glycine-chelated Zn (ZnGly) caused less foliar burn, but Glycine-mixed Zn caused more foliar burn than ZnSO ₄ . The seed Zn concentration increased with spraying Zn concentration. ZnEDTA (≤0.8%) had a higher threshold concentration than ZnGly (≤0.4%). Nevertheless, Zn biofortification efficacy did not significantly differ between 0.4% ZnGly and 0.8% ZnEDTA, and the grain Zn recovery rate of 0.4% ZnGly was much higher than that of 0.8% ZnEDTA. Additionally, dual-isotope labelling tests confirmed that ¹⁵ N-glycine and ⁶⁸ Zn in ZnGly interacted. In the future, chelating technology is essential for developing new Zn fertilizers to optimize Zn biofortification efficacy.
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