3. Children particularly sensitive
>450,000 deaths/year
children under 5 – 4.4%
attributed to Zn
deficiency
Black et al. 2008
The Lancet Maternal and Child
Undernutrition Series
5. Major Reason: Low Dietary Intake
High Consumption Cereal Based Foods
with Low Micronutrient Concentrations
In number of developing countries,
cereals contributes nearly 75 % of
the daily calorie intake.
6. Solutions to Micronutrient Deficiencies
• Supplementation
• Food Fortification
(not affordable in rural regions)
Golden Wheat Fortfied with Zn
7. Increase in Concentration of
Non-Nutritive Elements
(especially Cadmium and
Arsenic) in Food Crops is a
Growing Concern
10. SYMPOSIA SPEAKERS
Ismail Cakmak (Sabanci
University, Istanbul)
• Fertilizer Strategy for
Improving Grain Zinc and
Iron Concentrations
Maha V. Singh (Indian Institute
of Soil Science -ICAR)
• Detrimental Effects of Soil
Zinc Deficiency on Crop
Production and Human
Nutrition in India
Graham Lyons (University of
Adelaide Waite Campus)
• Agronomic Biofortification
to Reduce Selenium
Deficiency in Human
Populations: Achievements
and Challenges
Cynthia Grant (Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada)
• Agronomic Practices to
Reduce Non-Nutritive
Elements in Food Crops
Rapporteur: Rufus Chaney,
Research Agronomist, USDA
11. Fertilizer Strategy for Improving Grain
Zinc and Iron Concentrations
Ismail Cakmak
Sabanci University, Istanbul
13. +Zn
-Zn
When Zn is deficient in soil or plant
Grain Zn:
12 mg kg-1
Grain Zn:
35 mg kg-1
14. A successful breeding program for biofortifying
cereals with micronutrients greatly depends
on the amount of plant-available pools of
micronutrients in the soil and/or leaf tissue for
translocation into grain
On soils with low plant available Zn: 8-15 ppm
On soils with adeqate plant available Zn: 20-35 ppm
Cakmak et al., 2010 Cereal Chem.
Range of Grain Zn Concentration
in Wheat in Turkey:
15. For a better Zn and Fe nutrition of human
beings, cereal grains should contain around
40-60 mg Zn or Fe kg-1
Current Situation:
10-30 mg kg-1
16. Human Zinc Deficiency
Moderate
Not sufficient data available
Low
High
http://www.izincg.org/
Widespread Zn Deficiency
Medium Zn Deficiency
Alloway, 2004. IZA Publications, Brussels
Soil Zinc Deficiency
Soil and Human Zn Deficiency: geographical overlap
17. Application of Micronutrient
Fertilizers
Application of Zn- or Fe-containing fertilizers
offers a rapid solution to the problem, and
represents an important complementary
approach to on-going breeding programs for
developing new genotypes with high Zn or Fe
density in grain.
20. Project objectives
• to test Zn-containing N-P-K fertilizers for increasing root
Zn uptake and improving grain Zn concentration
• to identify the effective foliar Zn application for promoting
Zn accumulation in the grain
• to determine an effective combination of soil and foliar
application of Zn fertilizers for increasing Zn
concentration in the grain
• to characterize seed deposition of the leaf-applied Zn
• to achieve capacity building through close cooperation
and dissemination activities among scientists,
agronomists, extension staff and local farmers in the
target countries
21. 1) Standard/ Local Farmers’ Application (LS)
2) LS + Soil Zn (50 kg ZnSO4/ha)
3) LS +Foliar Zn (0.5 % for wheat and rice, 0.3 % for maize).
4) LS + Soil Zn+ Foliar Zn
5) LS + Foliar OMEX-Type-I
6) LS+ OMEX-Type-II
7) LS+Urea-Zn + adjustments (same rates of N, P, K
8) LS+Mosaic MESZ-Zn (and + adjustments)
9) LS+KALI KornKali-Zn (and + adjustments)
10) LS+KALI Korn Kali-Zn + Foliar Zn (+ adjustments)
11) LS+ Mosaic MESZ-Zn + Foliar Zn (+ adjustments)
12) LS+Urea MESZ+Kali+ foliar Zn
Fertilizer Treatments
22. Effect of Soil and/or Foliar Applied
ZnSO4 on Grain yield and Grain Zn
Concentrations in Wheat
Soil Zn Application : 25 to 50 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1
Foliar Zn Application: Generally 2 times: before and
after flowering (1 to 4 kg ZnSO4 ha-1)
23. Clinton Global Initiative highlighted the importance of
Zn-containing fertilizers to alleviate Zn deficiency
problem in human populations at 5th Annual Event in
September 24, 2009
46. Possible Nitrogen/Protein Effects
on Zn/Fe Concentration of Seeds
Seed Effect
•protein synthesis
•storage proteins
•sink activity
Re-translocation/Phloem Loading
•N-containing chelators
•Transporter proteins
Transport
•N-containing chelators
•Proteins contributing to xylem loading
•…
Mobilization & Uptake
•Transporter proteins mediating uptake
•Root exudation (e.g., phytosiderophores)
•Root growth
•Microbial activity
47. Effect of increasing N supply on root
uptake and root-to-shoot
translocation of Zn in wheat
48. 65Zn uptake rates and root-to-shoot translocation rates
of 22-day-old wheat seedlings precultured with low (0.5
mM), medium (1.0 mM) or high (4.0 mM) N supply.
Erenoglu et al., 2010, New Phytologist
65Zn uptake rates root-to-shoot translocation
49. Grain K Concentration
No Foliar Application
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
0.35
0.40
0.45
0.50
Low Adequate High
Soil Zn Supply
Grain[K](%)
Grain K Concentration
Foliar Zn Application
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
0.35
0.40
0.45
0.50
Low Adequate High
Soil Zn Supply
Grain[K](%)
Grain Fe Concentration
Foliar Zn Application
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Low Adequate High
Soil Zn Supply
Grain[Fe](mg.kg
-1
)
Grain Fe Concentration
No Foliar Application
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Low Adequate High
Soil Zn Supply
Grain[Fe](µg.g
-1
)
Grain Zn Concentration
Foliar Zn Application
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
Low Adequate High
Soil Zn Supply
Grain[Zn](µg.g
-1
)
Grain Zn Concentration
No Foliar Application
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
Low Adequate High
Soil Zn Supply
Grain[Zn](µg.g
-1
)
Low N
Adequate N
High N
Zinc
Iron
Potassium
Effect of
Increasing
Supply of Zn
and N on Grain
Concentrations
of Zn, Fe and K
Kutman et al., 2010 Cereal Chem
50. 65ZnSO4
65Zn
Effect of N nutrition on transport
and accumulation of 65Zn in grain
after the treatments of the flag
leaves with 65Zn-labelled solution
Growth at 3 N levels in soil
65Zn Flag Leaf
Erenoglu et al., 2010, New Phytol.
52. Distribution and partitioning of Fe
and Zn among the stems, leaves,
husks and grains in wheat grown with
low and adequate N supply in
greenhouse
Kutman et al. 2010b
53. Shoot Part Low N High N Low N High N
Husks 9 7 10 6
Grains 38 60 59 78
Leaves 48 28 17 8
Stem 5 6 14 7
Fe Zn
Zinc and Iron Partitioning (%) at Maturity
Kutman et al. 2010, in review
Nitrogen Dependent
55. Possible Nitrogen/Protein Effects
on Zn/Fe Concentration of Seeds
Seed Effect
•protein synthesis
•storage proteins
•sink activity
Re-translocation/Phloem Loading
•N-containing chelators
•Transporter proteins
Transport
•N-containing chelators
•Proteins contributing to xylem loading
•…
Mobilization & Uptake
•Transporter proteins mediating uptake
•Root exudation (e.g., phytosiderophores)
•Root growth
•Microbial activity Cakmak et al., 2010 Cereal
Chem, 77: 10-20
56. Cakmak et al., 2010
Cereal Chem, 77: 10-20
Staining of Protein, Zinc and Iron in Wheat Grain
Protein Zinc Iron
57. Cakmak et al., 2010 Cereal
Chem, 77: 10-20
Staining of Protein, Zinc and Iron in Wheat Grain
Protein Zinc Iron
High Protein in Seed:
a Sink for Zn and Fe
63. SEED
ZINC
Increasing
Resistance to
Diseases
Decreasing
Seeding Rate
Better Seed
Viability and
Seedling Vigor
Improving
Abiotic Stress
Tolerance
Improving
Human
Nutrition
Higher Yield
under Zn
Deficiency
Agronomic and human nutritional benefits
resulting from use of Zn-enriched seeds
Cakmak, 2008; Plant and Soil, 302: 1-17