Element profiles within the wheat grain were determined and alterations in the relative repartitioning of the mineral elements that took place due to Zn fertilisation of wheat plants were defined. Zn fertilisation did not affect the grain yield, but did increase the grain Ca, Fe and Zn concentrations. The changes observed in bulk element concentrations were the reflection of tissue-specific variations within the grain, revealing that Zn application to soil can lead to considerable alterations in the element distributions within the grain, which might ultimately influence the quality of the milling fractions. Furthermore, as no chemical or mechanical disruption of the samples was required for this micro-PIXE analysis the results will help to explain the mode of grain filling for the various elements, which will foster advances in our understanding of the underlying processes involved.
COBISS.SI-ID: 7578745