Symptoms and causes of zinc deficiency in rice.
Rice is one of the main food crops in China and is of great significance to ensuring national food security. However, zinc deficiency is often encountered during the growth of rice, which not only affects the yield of rice, but also reduces the quality of rice. To better understand and manage rice, we need to understand the symptoms and causes of zinc deficiency in rice.
Symptoms: When rice is deficient in zinc, symptoms usually begin to appear about a month after transplanting. First, the leaves of the rice plant will begin to turn yellow, appear spotted, and gradually expand to form streaks or patches. These symptoms are similar to those of nitrogen deficiency, but zinc-deficient leaves do not wilt as much as nitrogen deficiency. In addition, zinc deficiency will also lead to slow growth of rice plants, reduced tillering, poor root development, reduced seed setting rate, and even the phenomenon of "sitting in the pocket", which seriously affects the yield.
Causes: There are several causes of zinc deficiency in rice. First of all, the insufficient amount of zinc in the soil is one of the main reasons. The amount of zinc in the soil will be affected by the soil type, soil parent material, fertilization, etc. in different regions. Growing rice in zinc-deficient soils is prone to zinc deficiency symptoms if zinc fertilizer is not supplemented in time.
Secondly, unreasonable fertilization is also an important cause of zinc deficiency in rice. When fertilizing paddy fields, if the fertilizer supply capacity of the soil and the fertilizer demand characteristics of crops are not fully considered, blind fertilization or partial application of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers may lead to the antagonism between zinc and other elements, so that rice can not absorb enough zinc.
In addition, water conditions and planting methods can also affect the uptake of zinc in rice. Long-term flooding, high groundwater levels and high water levels will cause zinc loss in the soil, resulting in insufficient zinc content in the soil. Excessive planting density and improper field management will also affect the absorption and utilization of zinc in rice.
To sum up, in order to avoid the problem of zinc deficiency in rice, it is necessary to comprehensively consider multiple factors such as soil, fertilization, water conservancy and planting methods, and take scientific and reasonable measures to improve the zinc supply capacity of rice fields and the zinc absorption capacity of rice. Only in this way can we ensure the healthy growth and harvest of rice.