Zinc biofortification of bread wheat, triticale, and durum wheat cultivars by foliar zinc fertilization

Abstract

Poor zinc (Zn) nutrition of wheat is one of the main causes of poor human health in developing countries. A field experiment with no zinc and foliar zinc application (0.5% ZnSO4.7H2O) on bread wheat (8), durum wheat (3), and triticale (4) cultivars was conducted in a randomized block design with three replications in 2 years. The experimental soil texture was loamy sand with slightly alkalinity. The grain yields of bread wheat, triticale, and durum wheat cultivars increased from 43.6 to 56.4, 46.5 to 51.6, and 49.4 to 53.5 t ha−1, respectively, with foliar application of 0.5% ZnSO4.7H2O. The highest grain yield was recorded by PBW 550 (wheat), TL 2942 (triticale), and PDW 291 (durum), which was 5.22, 4.24, and 4.56% and significantly higher over no zinc. Foliar zinc application increased zinc in bread wheat, triticale, and durum wheat cultivars grains varying from 31.0 to 63.0, 29.3 to 61.8, and 30.2 to 62.4 mg kg−1, respectively. So, agronomic biofortification is the best way which enriching the wheat grains with zinc for human consumption.