Mineral Element Distribution and Accumulation Patterns Within Two Barley Cultivars

Growth stage effects on distribution of mineral nutrients or beneficial elements phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S), chloride (Cl), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), sodium (Na), silicon (Si) and nickel (Ni), and the elements bromine (Br), rubidium (Rb), strontium (Sr), barium (Ba), lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), and uranium (U) in two barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars and how the distribution of these elements changed were determined during the 2006–2007 growing season in a field experiment. Barley plants were sampled from the field at shooting, heading, soft dough, hard dough and harvest stages, and mineral nutrients and other elements concentrations of spike, flag leaf, old leaf, and stem samples were determined by polarized energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (PEDXRF). Distribution patterns varied considerably from element to element. At the end of the season much of the Ca, Mg, S, Si, Fe, Mn, Cu, Ni, Sr, Ba, La, Ce, and U were located in the spikes. However, much of the P, K, Zn, Cl, Na, Br, and Rb remained in the old leaves or stem.