Putting zinc on wheat bread sheets

It is estimated that 17.3% of people worldwide are at risk of inadequate zinc intake; Zinc deficiency is a major human health problem. Increasing the Zn concentration in wheat grains is very important, and management strategies to improve the Zn concentration in grains can play an important role in the fight against nutrient deficiency.

In a practice known as biofortification, researchers use agronomic, plant breeding or biotechnology practices to increase the macronutrient content of food crops. It is like an effective strategy to increase the Zn concentration in the wheat grain.

In a recently published Agronomy journal In the article, the researchers reported the effect of foliar application of zinc on the yield, protein, and grain zinc concentration of hard red spring wheat cultivars in a dryland system in Montana. Zinc sulfate was sprayed onto the plant canopy at a rate of 1.12 kg of Zn ha-1 once (in the batch) or twice (in the batch and bloom).

Their results showed that the second application of Zn in flowering was necessary to produce grains with a Zn concentration above the target level of 40 mg kg-1 as suggested by nutritionists. Zinc application also marginally increased grain yield; however, the increased yield did not offset the costs associated with Zn fertilization.

Given the need to produce grains with a higher concentration of Zn, price incentives or government payments are necessary to motivate farmers to adopt biofortification.