Abstract
The Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka publishes the results of research in all aspects of Science and Technology. The journal also has a website at http://www.nsf.gov.lk/. 2021 Impact Factor: 0.682The JNSF provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.Cover :Leatherback (a), green (b - adult & f - hatchling), hawksbill (c) and olive ridley (d) turtles who nest in Sri Lankan beaches, green turtle crawl marks (e) and by-catch of sea turtles in fisheries (c & d)Photo credits: SJ Perera (a & c), WPN Perera (b & e), K Ekaratne (d & f)
Highlights
Zinc (Zn) deficiency appears to be the most widespread and frequent micronutrient deficiency problem in crop and pasture plants worldwide, resulting in severe losses in yield and nutritional quality
It is not surprising that the well-documented Zn deficiency problem in humans occurs predominantly in the countries/regions such as India, China, Pakistan and Turkey where soils are low in available Zn, and cereals are the major source of calorie intake (Alloway, 2008)
Wheat variety ‘Siran 2008’ obtained from the Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (IBGE), University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan was used for testing the effect of 0, 5, 10 and 15 kg Zn ha-1 (0.0, 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 mg Zn kg-1 soil in the form of ZnSO4) as soil addition and 0, 0.5 and 1 % ZnSO4 solution (0, 5 and 10 g ZnSO4 per litre of de-ionised water) as foliar application on wheat yield and protein content in alkaline soil
Summary
Zinc (Zn) deficiency appears to be the most widespread and frequent micronutrient deficiency problem in crop and pasture plants worldwide, resulting in severe losses in yield and nutritional quality This is the case in cereal production areas and it is estimated that nearly half the soils on which cereals are grown have levels of available Zn low enough to cause Zn deficiency [50 % of soils in Turkey (Eyupoglu et al, 1994), 30 to 70 % of soils in India (Takkar, 1991), 70 % soils in Pakistan (Rashid et al, 1988), 2 m ha of paddy soils in Bangladesh and 8 m ha in China, Japan and the Philippines (Alloway, 2008; 2009)]. Humans consuming crops grown on Zn deficient soils may suffer Zn deficiency (on average, one-third of the world’s population, ranging from 4 to 73 % in different countries), and related health problems such as impairment in physical development, stunting in children, susceptibility to infectious diseases, increased morbidity and mortality, poor birth outcome in women and poor immune system and brain function (Hotz & Brown, 2004; Black et al, 2008; Cakmak, 2008)
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