Optimizing zinc fertilization technology in wheat for its sustainable production and improved human nutrition

ABSTRACT

Zinc (Zn) deficiency in soil is a serious constraint affecting the yield and nutritional quality of wheat and, in turn, human health. Zn fertilization for enhancing its density in grains is a prominent technological solution for the problem. Accordingly, the present study (pot experiment) was undertaken to (i) assess the impacts of different Zn fertilization technologies on yield, concentrations of Zn, phytic acid (PA), iron (Fe) and also the bioavailability of Zn in grains and (ii) determine the optimised Zn fertilization technology that balances all the above attributes. To achieve this, six Zn fertilization technologies, namely, soil fertilization alone, combined soil and foliar fertilization at maximum tillering, jointing, flowering, dough stages and also foliar fertilization alone were tested and compared with control (no Zn) in forty different soil series representing two distinct soil orders, Inceptisols and Alfisols. Results showed that relative effectiveness of different Zn fertilization technologies varied for the crop attributes studied. Soil + foliar fertilization was superior in increasing grain yield (10–13% over the control). Moreover, for an optimum balance among all the tested attributes including bioavailability of Zn to human, foliar Zn fertilization at later crop growth stage (i.e. dough) combined with soil fertilization was the best. It was found that biofortified wheat grains obtained through Zn fertilization, on an average, could supply about 1.5 times more bioavailable Zn than the normal grains. Therefore, the outcomes of this study can provide a guideline for sustainable and quality wheat production, which will help address the malnutrition challenge.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Triticum aestivum L
• grain yield
• Zn biofortification
• bioavailability
• health

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the laboratory facilities extended by ICAR – All India Coordinated Research Project on Micro- and Secondary Nutrients and Pollutant Elements in Soils and Plants, BCKV centre for the study. Sincere thanks to Dr S.K.Mukhopadhyay, BCKV for providing wheat seed materials for the experimentation, Dr S. Banerjee, BCKV for providing weather data and Dr A. Seth for helping in setting up the experiments through soil survey and collection. The authors also extend gratitude to International Plant Nutrition Institute for selecting the senior author (MC) for the IPNI-Scholar Award. Sincere thanks to the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments, which helped to improve the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

All data pertaining to the study findings are available within the paper and its supplementary materials.