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Agriculture
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Micronutrient Deficiency and Biofortification in Cropping Systems
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Micronutrient Deficiency and Biofortification in Cropping Systems

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 February 2023) | Viewed by 15811

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Mark Rekasi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Soil Sciences and Agricultural Chemistry, Centre for Agricultural Research, 1022 Budapest, Hungary
Interests: soil contamination; waste utilization; plant nutrition
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Micronutrient deficiencies affect more than 2 billion people worldwide due to the low mineral content of foods. One possible solution to this problem is the biofortification of crops, which is cost-effective and can be applied by rural populations.

With the expansion of chemical and biological knowledge, new methods are constantly developed to increase the efficiency of nutrient absorption by plants. It is important to investigate the effectiveness of different plant species in terms of the enrichment of a particular element so that the most effective species can be selected. It is also necessary to study the appropriate biofortification method for a given plant–microelement combination: irrigation, fertilization, foliar fertilization, or microbial methods. The effectiveness of enrichment can be greatly influenced by the chemical form in which a given element is used, and by other elements that may affect its uptake. Moreover, investigation of the form in which a micronutrient is stored in the plant after uptake is essential from a human health perspective, as it determines the nutrient’s absorption by the human gastrointestinal tract.

Thus, in the field of biofortification, there are a number of open issues that can be addressed in order to supply the growing population with nutritious food in a sustainable way.

Dr. Mark Rekasi
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • biofortification
  • micronutrients
  • enrichment
  • element uptake
  • human health
  • nutritional efficiency
  • bioavailability

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2148 KiB  
Article
Isolation, Characterization, and Identification of Zinc-Solubilizing Bacteria (ZSB) from Wetland Rice Fields in Peninsular Malaysia
by Nur Maizatul Idayu Othman, Radziah Othman, Ali Tan Kee Zuan, Aida Soraya Shamsuddin, Nur Badriyah Kamarul Zaman, Norazlina Abu Sari and Qurban Ali Panhwar
Agriculture 2022, 12(11), 1823; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12111823 - 1 Nov 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5290
Abstract
Micronutrients, such as zinc (Zn), are essential for the growth and development of a wide range of crops. To overcome Zn deficiency in the soil, Zn-solubilizing bacteria (ZSB) have recently been employed. In the present study, samples from the rice fields in the [...] Read more.
Micronutrients, such as zinc (Zn), are essential for the growth and development of a wide range of crops. To overcome Zn deficiency in the soil, Zn-solubilizing bacteria (ZSB) have recently been employed. In the present study, samples from the rice fields in the state of Selangor, Malaysia, were collected to isolate, characterize, and identify the ZSB. A total of 88 strains were isolated, and only 9 strains were able to solubilize the insoluble Zn on zinc oxide (ZnO)-, zinc carbonate (ZnCO3)-, and zinc phosphate (Zn3(PO4)2)-amended Tris-minimal media agar and broth assays. The highest Zn solubilization (20.99%) was measured for the TM23 isolate when exposed to Zn3(PO4)2-modified media culture, whereas ZnCO3 showed the lowest (3.35%) Zn solubilization by ZSB. In addition, nine isolated ZSB also exhibited plant-growth-promoting (PGP) traits, including nitrogen fixation ability, siderophore production, indole acetic acid production (35.28–65.48 mL−1), phosphate solubilization (27.69–77.38%), enzyme hydrolysis, and production of organic acids. Most of the isolated strains (88) were Gram-negative, except for TM54, which was Gram-positive. The four potential ZSB isolates based on 16RS rDNA sequence analysis were identified as Serratia sp. and Acinetobacter sp. Hence, this study’s findings suggest that these isolates could be prospective candidates to overcome Zn deficiencies and reduce the consumption of chemical fertilizers in agricultural areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micronutrient Deficiency and Biofortification in Cropping Systems)
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15 pages, 1544 KiB  
Article
Moderate Boron Concentration Beneficial for Flue-Cured Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) Seedlings Growth and Development
by Mengxia Li, Haowei Sun, Jianfeng Sun, Jialiang Li, Xiaowei Zhang, Ke Zhang, Tao Wang, Xinwei Ji, Xiaopeng Deng, Chenggang He, Yongzhong Li and Congming Zou
Agriculture 2022, 12(10), 1670; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12101670 - 12 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1885
Abstract
Boron (B) deficiency is a common phenomenon in most tobacco-planting areas in Yunnan, China. In 2020 and 2022, hydroponic experiments that contained B in a concentration gradient of 0.000, 0.125, 0.250, 0.750, 5.000, 10.000, 20.000, and 40.000 mmol L−1 were conducted to [...] Read more.
Boron (B) deficiency is a common phenomenon in most tobacco-planting areas in Yunnan, China. In 2020 and 2022, hydroponic experiments that contained B in a concentration gradient of 0.000, 0.125, 0.250, 0.750, 5.000, 10.000, 20.000, and 40.000 mmol L−1 were conducted to investigate tobacco cultivar K326′s agronomic traits, photosynthetic performance, antioxidant enzymes, and boron and nicotine concentration. As B concentration increased, indices including leaves biomass and net photosynthetic rate (Pn) generally increased first and then decreased, which was in contrast to antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT). With increasing B concentration, boron content in tobacco seedlings increased significantly by 24.00~96.44%, while decreased nicotine content by 21.60~82.03%. The highest biomass and photosynthetic performance were obtained within 0.75 and 5.00 mmol L−1 treatments. The results of the sandy soil pot verification experiment were similar to the hydroponic experiment obtained. The beneficial mechanism of moderate B on tobacco seedlings is to maintain cell structure integrity, enhance photosynthetic capability, and promote root growth. Consequently, the optimum B concentration for tobacco seedlings is 0.75~5.00 mmol L−1, and applying 0.25~0.50 B kg hm−1 in soil under available B insufficiency could meet the needs of the growth of flue-cured tobacco. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micronutrient Deficiency and Biofortification in Cropping Systems)
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16 pages, 765 KiB  
Article
Effect of Se-Enriched Irrigation Water and Soil Texture on Biomass Production and Elemental Composition of Green Pea and Carrot and Their Contribution to Human Se Intake
by Péter Ragályi, Tünde Takács, Anna Füzy, Nikolett Uzinger, Péter Dobosy, Gyula Záray, Nóra Szűcs-Vásárhelyi and Márk Rékási
Agriculture 2022, 12(4), 496; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12040496 - 31 Mar 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2833
Abstract
Selenium (Se)-deficient diets are a problem in large areas of the world and can have serious health consequences, thus, the biofortification of foods with Se has been an important research field for several decades. The effect of Se-enriched irrigation water was investigated regarding [...] Read more.
Selenium (Se)-deficient diets are a problem in large areas of the world and can have serious health consequences, thus, the biofortification of foods with Se has been an important research field for several decades. The effect of Se-enriched irrigation water was investigated regarding the Se concentration in green peas and carrots. A pot experiment was set up in a greenhouse with irrigation water containing 0, 100, and 500 µg Se L−1 with sand, silty sand and silt soil types. Most of the treatments only slightly reduced the biomass, while the 500 µg Se L−1 treatment caused a significant decrease in the dry weight of carrot root. Treatment with irrigation water containing 100 µg Se L−1 increased the Se content in green peas and carrots 76 and 75 times, respectively, producing foodstuffs where 100 g of a fresh product covered 395% and 92% of the recommended dietary allowance, respectively, averaged over the three soil types. The Se concentration was higher for green peas in sand and carrots in silt. The treatments had little effect on the concentrations of other nutrients. The enrichment of irrigation water with Se may thus be a suitable method for the biofortification and production of functional food under certain conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micronutrient Deficiency and Biofortification in Cropping Systems)
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14 pages, 738 KiB  
Article
Effect of Processing on Some Quality Parameters of Flour and Bread Made from Wheat Grain Biofortified with Zn and Se
by Maria J. Poblaciones, Dolores Reynolds-Marzal, Angelica M. Rivera-Martin and Oscar Santamaria
Agriculture 2021, 11(12), 1245; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11121245 - 9 Dec 2021
Viewed by 2398
Abstract
Millions of people have inadequate Se and Zn intakes, but agronomic biofortification could prevent this. This study evaluated the effect of the combined Zn and Se biofortification on the quality parameters of grain, and on the composition of minerals (Zn, Se, Mg, Ca [...] Read more.
Millions of people have inadequate Se and Zn intakes, but agronomic biofortification could prevent this. This study evaluated the effect of the combined Zn and Se biofortification on the quality parameters of grain, and on the composition of minerals (Zn, Se, Mg, Ca and Fe) and their availability in bread-making wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) products, white flour, wholemeal bread and white bread were evaluated. The studied treatments were soil Zn (no Zn, and 50 kg Zn ha−1) and foliar applications (0, 10 g Se ha−1, 8 kg Zn ha−1, and 10 g Se ha−1 + 8 kg Zn ha−1) and were tested in a two-year field experiment (2017–2018, 2018–2019). The foliar combined biofortification increased the concentration of both minerals in white flour, wholemeal bread and white bread by about 33%, 24% and 51%, respectively for Zn, and 3.3-fold, 3.4-fold and 2.7-fold for Se, showing a synergistic effect on Se concentration with the Se and Zn combination. While the loss of Zn and Se during the milling process was41% and 18%, respectively, baking caused a loss of 15% and 19%, respectively, for wholemeal bread, and up to 61% and 29% for Zn and Se for white bread. Hence, although the consumption of wholemeal bread instead of white bread may enhance Zn and Se intake more than biofortification, until consumption habits change, the biofortification of wheat can help to mitigate inadequate Zn and Se intakes in the general population. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micronutrient Deficiency and Biofortification in Cropping Systems)
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11 pages, 629 KiB  
Article
Combining Selenium Biofortification with Vermicompost Growing Media in Lamb’s Lettuce (Valerianella locusta L. Laterr)
by Lucija Galić, Marija Špoljarević, Alicja Auriga, Boris Ravnjak, Tomislav Vinković and Zdenko Lončarić
Agriculture 2021, 11(11), 1072; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11111072 - 30 Oct 2021
Viewed by 2327
Abstract
Leafy vegetables are a daily part of the human diet all over the world. At the same time, a worldwide problem of Se malnutrition is present in human populations, mostly due to low soil Se contents. As plants represent the main source of [...] Read more.
Leafy vegetables are a daily part of the human diet all over the world. At the same time, a worldwide problem of Se malnutrition is present in human populations, mostly due to low soil Se contents. As plants represent the main source of this element in the human diet, with Se being an essential trace element for humans and animals, plant foods containing Se can be used as an efficient means of increasing the Se in the human diet, as well as in animal feed (biofortification). At the same time, the production of growing media relies on limited peat reserves. The use of earthworms facilitates the production of composted organic masses mostly consisting of organic waste, called vermicompost. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of three different growing media (commercial peat media, vermicompost, and a 1:1 mixture) on Se biofortification’s efficacy and yield in lamb’s lettuce. The Se biofortification was performed with sodium selenate (Na2SeO4). It was shown that biofortification increased the Se contents such that a mass of only 48.9 g of fresh leaves contained enough Se for the recommended daily intake in human nutrition (55 µg Se/day), which represents a significant potential for solving Se malnutrition. Furthermore, the use of a 1:1 vermicompost–commercial substrate mixture showed a similar performance to the peat growing medium, contributing to the preservation of peat reserves. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micronutrient Deficiency and Biofortification in Cropping Systems)
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