Efficiency of soil-applied 67Zn-enriched fertiliser across three consecutive crops

Abstract A very small amount of applied zinc (Zn) is taken up by crops, resulting in low recovery by plants. Adding elemental sulphur to zinc oxide (ZnO) fertiliser could improve Zn solubilisation and exert a higher residual effect on crops than soluble Zn sources. We produced an isotopically labelled Zn-elemental sulphur fertiliser and evaluated its performance in comparison to traditional Zn sources during sequential crop cultivation. Three 67Zn-labelled fertilisers, ZnO, zinc sulphate (ZnSO4), and ZnO co-granulated with elemental sulphur (ZnOS0), were soil applied, and their contributions to the uptake of Zn by three consecutive crops, wheat, ryegrass, and corn, were assessed in a 294-d pot experiment. The contributions of Zn fertilisers followed the order: ZnSO4 > ZnO = ZnOS0. The relative contributions of Zn fertilisers were lower in the first crop than in the subsequent crops. The overall recovery of applied Zn by the three crops was higher for ZnSO4 than for ZnO and ZnOS0 reaching 1.56%, 0.45%, and 0.33% of the applied Zn, respectively. Zinc recovery by plants was very low, regardless of the source of Zn. Adding elemental sulphur to ZnO did not increase its effectiveness up to 294 d after application. Fertiliser contribution was higher for the subsequent crops than for the initial crop, indicating the importance of assessing the residual effects of Zn fertilisers.