Biofortification of Wheat Cultivars to Combat Zinc Deficiency

Zinc (Zn) deficiency caused by inadequate dietary intake is a global nutritional problem, particularly in developing countries. Therefore, zinc biofortification of wheat and other cereal crops is being urgently addressed and highly prioritized as a research topic. A field study was planned to evaluate the influence of zinc application on grain yield, grain zinc content, and grain phytic acid concentrations of wheat cultivars, and the relationships between these parameters. Three wheat cultivars, C₁ = Faisalabad-2008, C₂ = Punjab-2011, and C₃ = Millet-2011 were tested with five different methods of zinc application: T₁ = control, T₂ = seed priming, T₃ = soil application, T₄ = foliar application, and T₅ = soil + foliar application. It was found that grain yield and grain zinc were positively correlated, whereas, grain phytic acid and grain zinc were significantly negatively correlated. Results also revealed that T₅, T₃, and T₄ considerably increased grain yield; however, T₂ only slightly enhanced grain yield. Grain zinc concentration increased from 33.1 and 33.7 mg kg^-1 in T₁ to 62.3 and 63.1 mg kg^-1 in T₅ in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, respectively. In particular, T₅ markedly decreased grain phytic acid content; however, maximum concentration was recorded in T₁. Moreover, all the tested cultivars exhibited considerable variation in grain yield, grain zinc, and grain phytic acid content. In conclusion, T₅ was found to be most suitable for both optimum grain yield and grain biofortification of wheat.