Zinc (Zn) availability is limited in salt-affected soils due to high soil pH and calcium concentrations causing Zn fixation. The application of synthetic Zn fertilizer is usually discouraged due to the high cost and low Zn use efficiency. However, salt-tolerant Zn-solubilizing bacteria (ZSB) are capable of solubilizing fixed fractions of Zn and improving fertilizer use efficiency. In the current study, a product was formulated by coating urea with bioaugmented zinc oxide (ZnO) to improve wheat productivity under a saline environment. The promising ZSB strain Bacillus sp. AZ6 was used for bioaugmentation on ZnO powder and termed as Bacillus sp. AZ6-augmented ZnO (BAZ). The experiment was conducted in pots by applying urea granules after coating with BAZ, to evaluate its effects on wheat physiology, antioxidant activity, and productivity under saline (100 mM NaCl) and non-saline (0 mM NaCl) conditions. The results revealed that the application of BAZ-coated urea alleviated salt stress through improving the seed germination, plant height, root length, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, soil plant analysis development (SPAD) value, number of tillers and grains, spike length, spike weight, 1000-grain weight, antioxidant activity (APX, GPX, GST, GR, CAT, and SOD), and NPK contents in the straw and grains of the wheat plants. Moreover, it also enhanced the Zn contents in the shoots and grains of wheat by up to 29.1 and 16.5%, respectively, over absolute control, under saline conditions. The relationships and variation among all the studied morpho-physio and biochemical attributes of wheat were also studied by principal component (PC) and correlation analysis. Hence, the application of such potential products may enhance nutrient availability and Zn uptake in wheat under salt stress. Therefore, the current study suggests the application of BAZ-coated urea for enhancing wheat’s physiology, antioxidant system, nutrient efficiency, and productivity effectively and economically.

中文翻译：

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盐分胁迫下芽孢杆菌增强氧化锌包膜尿素对小麦的影响

由于高土壤pH值和钙浓度会导致锌固定，在受盐影响的土壤中锌（Zn）的可用性受到限制。由于高成本和低锌使用效率，通常不鼓励使用合成锌肥料。但是，耐盐锌增溶细菌（ZSB）能够增溶固定含量的Zn，并提高肥料使用效率。在当前的研究中，通过在尿素上涂覆生物增强氧化锌（ZnO）来配制产品，以提高盐环境下的小麦生产力。有前途的ZSB菌株芽孢杆菌。AZ6用于在ZnO粉末上进行生物增强，称为芽孢杆菌sp。AZ6-增强的ZnO（BAZ）。在BAZ包衣后，通过在尿素颗粒中施用尿素颗粒，在盆中进行实验，以评估其在盐溶液（100 mM NaCl）和非盐溶液（0 mM NaCl）下对小麦生理，抗氧化活性和生产率的影响。结果表明，BAZ包膜尿素的应用通过改善种子发芽，植物高度，根长，光合速率，蒸腾速率，气孔导度，土壤植物分析发展（SPAD）值，分till和谷粒数量，减轻了盐胁迫。穗长，穗重，1000粒重，抗氧化活性（APX，GPX，GST，GR，CAT和SOD）和小麦植物的稻草和谷物中的NPK含量。此外，与绝对控制相比，它还能将小麦的芽和谷物中的锌含量分别提高29.1％和16.5％。在盐水条件下。通过主成分分析和相关分析，研究了小麦所有形态生理和生化特性之间的关系和变异。因此，在盐胁迫下，此类潜在产品的应用可提高小麦的养分利用率和锌吸收量。因此，当前的研究表明，BAZ包被的尿素可以有效，经济地增强小麦的生理，抗氧化系统，营养效率和生产力。