Agronomic Bio-fortification of Food Crops with Zinc and Iron for Ameliorating their Deficiencies in Humans : Constraints and Possibilities

摘要

Micronutrients are not only important for better crop productivity, but also essential for sustaining human and animal health. There is a widespread deficiency of zinc (Zn) in the Indian soils. Micronutrient deficiency, especially of zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe), in soil is a well-identified problem, which could lead to the trace element deficiency in humans. The continued omission of micronutrient fertilisers from the fertiliser schedules coupled with heavy application of the high-analysis micronutrient-free fertilisers under intensive agriculture has led to emergence of micronutrient deficiencies in soils and decline in soil health in many parts of the world. This results in the production of poor quality food crops with lower mineral and trace element content. People feeding on such poor quality food crops are expected to suffer from trace element deficiencies. Among the interventions currently available in the developing countries, genetic bio-fortification is a sustainable solution to eradicate the problems of human malnutrition. However, developing new micronutrient-rich plant genotypes is a protracted process. Agronomic bio-fortification could be a rapid solution to enrich the food crops and reduce micronutrient malnutrition in humans. This article mainly focuses on the common constraints and possible solutions related to agronomic bio-fortification of food crops through fertilisation with Zn and Fe.