Agriculture met the challenge of feeding the world’s poor by the Green Revolution with the help of high yielding varieties (HYV), high fertilizer application. This high fertilizer application increased the world food grain production as well as micro nutrient deficiencies in the soil decade to decade. in 1950 only Nitrogen is deficient in soil but due to green revolution, higher fertilizer application leads to micro nutrient deficiencies in soil (Fig.1). Iron, zinc and Vitamin A deficiencies in human nutrition are widespread in developing countries. About 2 billion people suffer globally from anaemia due to Fe deficiency, more than one-third of the world’s population suffers from Zn deficiency and estimated to be responsible for approximately 4% of the worldwide burden of morbidity and mortality in under 5-year children.
Bio-fortification entails the development of micronutrient-dense food crops (Nestel et al., 2006). Plant breeding strategies hold great promise in this process because of its enormous potential to improve dietary quality. Well-known examples of bio-fortification for fighting micronutrient malnutrition are golden rice and breeding of low phytate legumes and grains (Beyer et al., 2006). Application of fertilizers to soil and/or foliar to improving grain nutrient concentration and the potential of nutrient containing fertilizers for increasing nutrient concentration of cereal grains. Increasing the Zn and Fe concentration of food crop plants, resulting in better crop production and improved human health is an important global challenge. Among micronutrients, Zn and Fe deficiency are occurring in both crops and humans. Zinc deficiency is currently listed as a major risk factor for human health and cause of death globally.
In view of globally widespread deficiencies of micronutrients in humans, bio-fortification of food crops with micronutrients through agricultural approaches is a sustainable widely applied strategy. Agronomic bio-fortification (e.g., fertilizer applications) and plant breeding (e.g., genetic bio-fortification and transgenic breeding) represent complementary and cost-effective solution to alleviate malnutrition. Bio-fortified varieties assume great significance to achieve nutritional security of the country.
Micronutrient malnutrition Causes….
• More severe illness
• More infant and maternal deaths
• Lower cognitive development
• Stunted growth
• Lower work productivity and ultimately - Lower GDP.
• Higher population growth rates.
Malnutrition Problem
• 800 million people go to bed hungry
• 250 million children are malnourished
• 400 million people have vitamin A deficiency
• 100 million young children suffer from vitamin A deficiency
• 3 million children die as a result of vitamin A deficiency
1. Comparative analysis of different crop management system for
agronomic bio-fortification of food crops for nutritional security
Seminar on
CHETHAN BABU R T
20-P-FP-05
1st Year Ph. D. Scholar
Agronomy Section
ICAR-NDRI, Karnal.
2. SEQUENCE OF PRESENTATION
Introduction
Crop management systems
Bio-fortification
Research findings
Conclusion
Future line of work
Agronomic bio-fortification
2
3. Agriculture met the challenge of feeding the world’s poor by the
Green Revolution with the help of high yielding varieties (HYV),
high fertilizer application. This high fertilizer application
increased the world food grain production as well as micro
nutrient deficiencies in the soil.
The micro nutrients deficiencies from soil to crop, crop
to food, food to human leads to malnutrition of people.
Fig. 1: Emerging deficiencies of plant nutrients in relation to
increased food grain production
MN in soil
•Soil management
MN in crop
•processing
MNin food
•Improper
Cooking
•Dietary intake
•Eating habits
Schematic overview of
micronutrient (MN) pathway
from soil to humans
INTRODUCTION
3
4. Table 1:TOP TEN Risk factors in developing countries causes disease
burden (Ratio %)
1. Under weight 14.9 %
2. Unsafe sex 10.2 %
3. Unsafe water 5.5 %
4. Indoor smoke 3.7 %
5. Zinc deficiency 3.2 %
6. Iron deficiency 3.1 %
7. Vitamin A deficiency 3.0 %
8. Blood pressure 2.5 %
9. Tobacco 2.0 %
10 cholesterol 1.9 %
WHO, 2012
4
Zinc Iron Vit. A
6. THE UGLY FACE OF “HIDDEN HUNGER”
Zinc Deficiency
Vitamin A Deficiency Iodine Deficiency
Iron Deficiency
Malnutrition
6
7. Human Dietary Requirements
Air, Water
and Energy
Protein
(amino acids)
Lipids-Fat (fatty
acids)
Macro-
elements
Trace elements Vitamins
Oxygen Histidine Linoleic acid Na Fe B A B6
Water Isoleucine Linolenic acid K Zn Ni D B9
CHO Leucine Ca Cu Cr E B12
Lysine Mg Mn V K Biotin
Methionine S I Si C
Phenylalanine P F As B1
Threonine Cl Se Li B2
Tryptophan Mo Sn B3
7
Table 2: Recommended Dietary Allowance of
Micronutrients for Indians
Group RDA (mg/day)
Zn Fe
Adult man 12 21
Adult women 10 17
Children 7 13
Adolescents 12 28
ICMR (2010)
8. Mineral supplementation
• Providing capsules, syrups - immediate relief
• Ex: Vit-A capsules
Dietary diversification
• Eat diversified food
• Sustainable, long term solution
Food fortification
• Add micronutrients to food
• Ex: Iodized salt, Flouride to toothpaste etc.
Bio-fortification
• Sustainable - one time solution
• Ex: QPM, Golden rice
Mayer et al., 2008. 8
9. What is Bio-fortification..?
Bio-fortification is the process of enrichment
of food crops that are rich in bio-available
micronutrients, such as vitamin A, zinc, and
iron through agronomic practices, conventional
plant breeding or modern biotechnology.
These crops are “bio-fortified” by loading
higher levels of minerals and vitamins in their
seeds and roots during growth.
9
Greek word “bios” means “life”
Latin word “fortificare” means “make strong”
11. Approaches for Bio-fortification of food crops
Bio-fortification approaches
Genotype selection
Genotype
improvement
Genetic engineering
Conventional breeding
Agronomic
bio-fortification
Hari Mohan Meena et al., 2017 11
12. Agronomic bio-fortification is the application of
micronutrient-containing mineral fertilizer to
the soil and/or plant leaves (foliar), to increase
micronutrient contents of the edible part of food
crops.
Agronomic biofortification is the easiest and
fastest way for biofortification of cereal grains
with Fe and Zn.
This is the only way to reach the poorest of the
poor rural masses .
Major approach for Agronomic Bio-fortification
Selection of cultivar
Sources of fertilizer ( INM )
Right choice of fertilizer material
Right quantity of fertilizer material
Right method of fertilizer application
Right time of application
Agronomic bio-fortification
12
13. Crop management systems
13
Conservation agriculture system
• minimum soil disturbance, permanent soil cover,
diversified cropping systems
Organic farming system
• chemical free farming
Conventional crop management system:
• commercial farming
Integrated farming system:
Integration of different enterprises
14. Agronomic management practices for
bio fortification
• Soil application of micronutrient fertilizer
• Foliar application of water soluble micronutrient
fertilizers at different growth stages
• Seed priming/ treatment : Nutrient seed priming is a
technique in which seeds are soaked in a nutrient solution
instead of pure water to enhance seed nutrient content
along with the priming effect to improve germination and
establishment.
• Application organic materials
14
15. Source of
Fertilization
Quantity of
fertilisation
Stage of
fertilization
ZnSO4 Zn-EDTA
Zincated
Urea
Other Zn
Fertilisers
Appropriate source of Zn Fertiliser
Quantification of rate of application
Soil Microbial activity
Addition of PGPR & VAM
Selection of cultivar
Selection of appropriate crop rotation
Proper stage of
application
Major Approaches for Agronomic Bio-fortification
15
16. Management practices other than fertilizer affecting Fe and Zn
concentration in food grains
Tillage
Water management
Interaction with other nutrients
Microbial intervention (PGPR and AM Fungi )
Soil factors affecting the availability of Fe and Zn to plants
Amounts present in soil
Soil solution pH
Mechanisms of Zn fixation other than pH
Plant factors affecting uptake of Fe and Zn
Root characteristics
Phyto-siderophores
Organic acids
Translocation and assimilation in plants
Parboiled rice:
Parboiling resulted in a significant inward movement of fortified iron into the endosperm.
Parboiling itself may cause inward migration of some mineral nutrients present in the
surface layer of rice grain (Bhattacharya 2004).
16
18. Table 3: Grain Zn concentration of rice and wheat as affected by
Zn-enriched urea applications
Treatments
Rice Wheat
Grain Zn conc.
(mg/kg DW)
Grain yield
(t/ha)
Grain Zn
conc. (mg/kg
DW)
Grain yield
(t/ha)
Prilled urea 30 3.99 40 3.72
Zn-Enriched urea's
1%Zn as ZnO 36 4.46 46 4.14
1%Zn as ZnSO4 39 4.67 49 4.25
2%Zn as ZnO 43 4.95 49 4.39
2%Zn as ZnSO4 48 5.15 51 4.53
IARI, New Dehli Shivay et al., 2008
18
19. Table 4: Effect of Zn fertilization on Zn concentrations of aromatic
hybrid rice (pooled data of 2 years)
Zn Fertilization Zn applied
(Kg/ha)
Grain Zn conc.,
(mg/Kg)
Straw Zn conc.,
(mg/Kg)
Absolute control
(no Zn& no N)
- 15.0 125.2
Control (only N) - 17.0 144.0
2.0%ZEU*(ZnSO4.7H2O) 5.0 23.0 177.7
2.0%ZEU (ZnO) 5.0 20.0 164.6
5.0 Kg Zn/ha
(ZnSO4.7H2O)
5.0 21.1 161.3
5.0 Kg Zn/ha (ZnO) 5.0 19.2 151.8
SEm ± - 0.08 0.56
CD(P=0.05) - 0.24 1.60
New Delhi Jat et al., 2009
ZEU*- Zn-Enriched Urea;
19
20. Table 5: Effect of foliar spray of iron sulphate on iron
concentration in different rice cultivars
Cultivars PR113 PR116 PR118 PR120 PAU201
Treatments Fe (mg/kg)
Control 15.2 14.8 13.0 17.8 12.5
0.5%FeSO4 18.8 20.5 19.7 20.2 19.8
1%FeSO4 26.4 25.8 26.5 28.2 28.8
CD NS 3.1 1.1 6.2 5.7
Ludhiana, Punjab Singh et al., 2013 20
Spray @ Maximum tillering, Pre-anthesis and Post-anthesis stages
21. Treatment
Micronutrients concentrations (mg kg-1)
Fe Zn Mn Cu
Control (no fertilizer) 150 37.3 41.0 5.1
Prilled urea 156 39.2 43.7 5.8
1% Sulphur-coated urea 161 40.9 44.3 6.4
2% Sulphur-coated urea 166 42.8 45.8 6.9
3% Sulphur-coated urea 171 43.2 46.3 7.2
4% Sulphur-coated urea 176 43.8 46.5 7.6
5% Sulphur-coated urea 181 44.5 46.8 7.7
SEm ± 1.52 0.62 0.75 0.13
LSD (P=0.05) 4.69 1.90 2.30 0.40
Table 7: Effect of sulphur fertilization on biofortification of
wheat (Triticum aestivum) grains with Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu
New Delhi Shivay et al., 2016 21
22. Foliar Fe
applications
Soil N applications
(mg kg-1soil)
Grain concentration
Fe (mg kg-1 )
Grain yield
(g plant-1 )
Control
75 25 1.24
250 33 1.91
500 34 2.03
Fe-EDTA
75 27 1.39
250 36 2.07
500 39 2.35
FeSO4
75 30 1.39
250 42 2.57
500 55 3.46
CV (%) 11 21.3
LSD (0.05) 6.34 0.7
Table 8: Bio-fortification of wheat with iron through soil and
foliar application of nitrogen and iron fertilizers
Central Anatolia, Turkey Bahar et al., 2011
Fe- Ethylene Diamine Tetra Acetic Acid (Fe-EDTA) and FeSO4 are applied in the conc. of 0.25 % (w/v)
22
23. Table 9: Effect of Fe application along with BC and PM on mineral
present in wheat grains in normal and S treated calcareous soil
Soil pH level Treatments Fe (mg kg-1) Zn (mg kg-1)
pH 7.8
(Original soil)
C 49.7 20.5
BC 45.7 19.2
PM 57.3 22.2
Fe 84.1 18.9
Fe + BC 97.5 19.1
Fe + PM 92.9 23.2
pH 6.5
(Reduced soil
pH)
S 58 21.8
S + BC 63.7 22.7
S + PM 66.6 25.4
S + Fe 99.1 21.7
S + Fe + BC 120.3 23.8
S + Fe + PM 115.8 27.7
C: Control, BC: Biochar (1% w/w), PM: Poultry manure (1% w/w), Fe: iron (7.5 mg kg-1 soil),
S: sulfur (2.5 g kg-1 soil).
Faisalabad, Pakistan Ramzani et al., 2016 23
24. Table 10: Effect of Zn & Fe application on the grain yield and Zinc and Iron
contents of rabi sorghum
Treatments
Grain yield
(t/ha)
Fe content in
grain
(mg/kg)
Zn content in
grain
(mg/kg)
Micro nutrients
RDF (80:40:40 kg NPK/ha) 4.08 35.00 20.30
RDF + ZnSO4 @ 50 kg/ha (soil application) 3.93 38.75 21.73
RDF + FeSO4 @ 50 kg/ha (soil application) 3.91 34.68 21.60
RDF + ZnSO4 + FeSO4 (soil application) fb
foliar application of (0.50%+0.10%) at 45
DAS
3.81 44.06 23.06
Cultivars
CSH 15 R 3.88 39.22 22.71
M-35-1 3.42 34.37 21.71
Phule Chitra 4.27 39.00 20.33
Phule Maulee 4.23 41.59 23.61
Phule Yashoda 3.87 36.42 19.99
LSD(P=0.05) 0.69 6.40 3.02
Mishra et al., 2014
Hyderabad 24
25. Zn Treatments
Grain yield
(g pot-1)
Zinc concentration in
grain (mg kg-1 )
Zinc content in grain
(µg seed-1 )
Control 377 ± 1.45 F 22.3 ± 0.37 F 5.2 ± 0.12 F
Surface broadcasting 411 ± 2.03 D 26.7 ± 0.15 E 6.9 ± 0.09 E
Foliar 397 ± 1.15 E 30.1 ± 0.14 D 7.6 ± 0.05 D
Subsurface banding 420 ± 1.89 C 34.0 ± 0.11 C 9.0 ± 0.08 C
Surface broadcasting +
foliar
427 ± 1.60 B 37.4 ± 0.17 B 10.4 ± 0.04 B
Subsurface band
application + foliar
442 ± 1.43 A 41.9 ± 0.15 A 12.3 ± 0.11 A
Table 11: Effect of various zinc treatments on the nutritional
attributes in maize grains
Treatment details:
Control - without Zn,
Surface broadcasting (16 kg Zn/ha before sowing of crop),
Zn foliar (0.5% w/v Zn sprayed at 25 days after sowing and 0.25% w/v at tasseling stage),
Subsurface banding (16 kg Zn/ha at the depth of 15 cm)
Imran et al., 2016
Iran 25
26. Table 12: Integrated effect of nitrogen and zinc levels on zinc
content in pearl millet grain and stalk
Treatments
Zinc content - seed
(mg/kg)
Zinc uptake - shoot
(mg/kg)
Nitrogen levels (kg/ha) Nitrogen levels (kg/ha)
0 20 40 60 0 20 40 60
Zinc levels
(kg/ha)
0 8.6 17.1 11.3 17.5 1.03 2.68 2.01 3.21
5 11.8 26.1 13.2 14.3 1.82 4.53 2.77 2.95
10 15.0 4.0 25.3 22.1 2.35 0.81 5.60 5.25
LSD (0.05) of
N x Zn
2.27 0.58
Prasad et al., 2015
B.H.U, Varanasi
26
27. Table 13: Effect of Zn bio-fortification on Zn and Fe content and
seed yield of chickpea
Treatment Zn (mg kg-1) Fe (mg kg-1) Seed yield (kg ha-1)
2015-16 2016-17 2015-16 2016-17 2015-16 2016-17
Control 30.22 28.99 52.22 54.64 1693 1765
Soil application of ZnSO4 @ 25
kg ha-1 at sowing
36.82 35.29 55.32 58.11 1866 1865
Foliar spray of ZnSO4 @ 0.5% at
FS
38.04 37.61 56.11 58.96 1805 1846
Foliar spray of ZnSO4 @ 0.5% at
FS+ PFS
41.83 41.44 57.91 60.19 1849 1879
Soil application of ZnSO4 @ 25
kg ha-1 at sowing +Foliar spray of
ZnSO4 @ 0.5% at FS
41.01 40.14 58.05 61.72 1884 1900
Soil application of ZnSO4 @ 25
kg ha-1 at sowing +Foliar spray of
ZnSO4 @ 0.5% at FS + PFS
45.06 44.69 59.74 62.88 1935 1955
CD (p=0.05) 2.00 1.96 4.06 3.43 85 87
FS: Flowering stage PFS: Pod formation stage
Zn in soil (mg kg-1): 0.84
Pal et al., 2019
28. Table 14: Effect of foliar fertilization on Zn and Fe content and
protein % of chickpea
Treatment Zn (mg kg-1) Fe (mg kg-1) Protein%
Water spray 27.12 36.18 15.64
2% urea 29.14 37.21 18.34
0.3% FeSO4 28.22 44.11 15.72
0.5% ZnSO4 32.48 37.17 15.76
0.3% FeSO4 + 2% urea 29.21 44.13 18.51
0.5% ZnSO4 + 2% urea 35.24 37.34 18.62
0.3% FeSO4 + 0.5% ZnSO4 32.51 44.24 15.83
0.3% FeSO4+ 0.5% ZnSO4 + 2%
urea
37.32 46.34 19.73
CD (p=0.05) 1.76 2.11 0.31
Ummed et al., 2015 (U.P)
28
Zn in soil (mg/kg)- 0.63
Fe in soil (mg/kg ) - 1.63
Spray at flowering initiation
30. Table15: Influence of zinc application through seed priming (SP) and foliar spray
(F)on crop grain Zn content of maize hybrids.
30
Zn application Grain Zn content
DK-919 Pioneer-30-987
Control 22.78 20.11
SP at 1% 23.96 23.08
SP at 2 % 25.07 22.26
F at 1% 27.02 21.19
F at 2% 29.57 25.91
SP at 1%+F at 1% 26.15 24.16
SP at 1%+F at 2% 28.74 26.85
SP at 2%+F at 1% 27.98 25.80
SP at 2%+F at 2% 30.63 27.94
mean 26.87 24.14
Mohsin et al., 2014
Faisalabad F-Foliar spray, SP-Seed priming
31. 31
Table 16: Effect of Zn enriched FYM on nutrient uptake by Rice
Sridevi et al., 2010
UAS, Banglore
32. 32
Fig 5: Influence of Zn application on the grain Zn concentration of wheat planted in
conventional and conservation tillage systems.
Faisal et al., 2020
Faisalabad
33. 33
Table 17 : Zinc concentrations and uptake measured in maize grain as
influenced by Common soil fertility management practices
Treatments Grain Zn (mg/kg) Grain Zn uptake (g/ha)
Unfertilized maize 14 7
Maize after legume 19 22
Cattle manure + NPK 21 49
Leaf litter + NPK 23 37
Mineral NPK only 16 20
Mean 18.5 27
Sed 1.7 8
F test * *
34. 34
Table 18: Yield and quality of pearl millet and clusterbean as influenced by
intercropping, moisture and nutrient management (mean of 3 years)
Bana et al., 2016
New Delhi
35. 35
Table 19 : Effect of organic manures and Zn fertilization on Zn conc. in grains,
stover, and Zn contents in grains and accumulation in shoot
Naveed et al., 2018
China
FYM: Farm yard manure
PM: Press mud
FM: Fisheries manure
SHW: Slaughter house waste
36. Compared with conventional (non bio-fortified crops),
bio-fortified crops have
Increase foods
available in
homes
Better agronomic
characteristics
•Greater: yields,
resistance to pests,
tolerance to stresses
Higher nutritional
concentration
•More: iron, zinc,
beta-carotene and/or
tryptophan and lysine
Increase the
intake of these
nutrients
Improve
nutrition
security
Improve
food
security
36
37. Conclusion
Bio-fortification of food crops offers sustainable solutions to
correct the micronutrient related malnutrition problems.
Combined soil and foliar application of Zn and Fe improves their
concentration in food crops.
Integrated approach involves organic manures, mineral fertilizers
and Foliar application improves nutrient content in grains rather
than mineral fertilizers alone
Foliar application requires lesser amount of Fe and Zn fertilizers
than soil application.
Future line of work
Biofortification of local varieties and hybrids needs greater attention.
Study on effect of genetically bio-fortified crops on soil – plant environment is
needed.
Biofortification of fodder crops, fruits and vegetables is needed.
37
