Diagenesis. Zinc is a very mobile trace metal.

See: Carignan, R. and Tessier, A. (1985) Zinc deposition in Acid Lakes: The Role of Diffusion. Science, Vol. 228, pp. 1524-1526.

Dear Dr Singh:

There are multiple interactions in soil and plant that govern the mobility and phyto-availability of Zn in soil. Few important considerations are listed below:

1) Negative interaction of Zn with P in soil as well as in plant is most important in this regard. Higher P availability in soil (particularly in Zn deficient soils) may facilitate formation of insoluble Zn-phosphate complex resulting in reduced mobility/availability of Zn in soil.

2) P can interfere with Zn uptake and translocation in plant by forming Zn-phytate complex (a case of P-induced Zn deficiency in plant)

3) Zn being a di-valent cation, its solubility in soil decreases 100 times with every unit increase in soil pH. This is why Zn availability is relatively more in acidic soils than in alkaline soils. (This situation is exemplified by lime-induced Zn deficiency).

4) High temperature can increase the solubility and mobility of Zn in soil, resulting in improved availability for plant uptake. This may be caused by increased desorption of Zn from adsorption site at higher temperature.

Hope these information could be useful to you

Zinc deficiency can be found in every part of the world and almost all crops respond

positively to application of Zn. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), about 30% of the cultivable soils of the world contain low levels of plant available Zn . The lowest Zn concentrations were always found in Spodosols (28 µg g-1) and luvisols (35 µg g-1), whilehigher levels were found in fluvisols (60 µg g-1) and Histosols (58µg g-1).All types of soil may be affected by Zn including: loams, sands, clays ( with all classification), loess, alluvium, and soils formed from basalt, sandstone, granite, volcanic ash and many other rocks. In general, soils of arid and semi arid regions and the slightly acidic, leached soils of warm and tropical climates are most inclined to Zn deficiency, however, crops are not equally susceptible to Zn deficiency and at the same soil some crops may suffer from Zn deficiency while others are not affected. Major Zn deficiency causes include: (i) Soils of low Zn content (Parent material), (ii) soils with Restricted Zones, (iii) pH, (iv) soils low in organic matter, (v) Microbially inactivated Zn, (vi) Cool soil temperature, (vii) Plant species and genotypes (viii) High level of available phosphorus and (ix) Effects of nitrogen . Zn deficiency problems may occurs in soils with the subsequent characters; (a) strongly alkaline in reaction (b) high phosphorus status by application of phosphatic fertilizers may reduce use of zinc (c) leached sandy soils (d) acid soils of low total Zn status developed on highly weathered parent material (e) calcareous soil (f) peat and muck soils (g) permanently wet (water logged) and (h) high bicarbonate and magnesium in soils or irrigated water. Source : American Journal of Experimental Agriculture 3(2): 374-391, 2013