title: The assessment of soil availability and wheat grain status of zinc and iron in Serbia: Implications for human nutrition.
abstract: The deficiency of zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) is a global issue causing not only considerable yield losses of food crops but also serious health problems. We have analysed Zn and Fe concentrations in the grains of two bread wheat cultivars along native gradient of micronutrient availability throughout Serbia. Although only 13% of the soil samples were Zn deficient and none was Fe deficient, the levels of these micronutrients in grain were rather low (median values of 21 mg kg(-1) for Zn and 36 mg kg(-1) for Fe), and even less adequate in white flour. Moreover, excessive P fertilization of calcareous soils in the major wheat growing areas strongly correlated with lower grain concentration of Zn. Our results imply that a latent Zn deficiency in wheat grain poses a high risk for grain quality relevant to human health in Serbia, where wheat bread is a staple food.
authors.affiliation: Plant Nutrition Research Group, Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, PO Box 33, 11030 Belgrade, Serbia. Electronic address: mnikolic@imsi.bg.ac.rs.
authors.forename: Miroslav
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nikolic
authors.affiliation: Plant Nutrition Research Group, Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, PO Box 33, 11030 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nikolic
authors.affiliation: Plant Nutrition Research Group, Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, PO Box 33, 11030 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Ljiljana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kostic
authors.affiliation: Plant Nutrition Research Group, Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, PO Box 33, 11030 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Jelena
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pavlovic
authors.affiliation: Plant Nutrition Research Group, Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, PO Box 33, 11030 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Predrag
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bosnic
authors.affiliation: Plant Nutrition Research Group, Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, PO Box 33, 11030 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Nenad
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Stevic
authors.affiliation: Plant Nutrition Research Group, Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, PO Box 33, 11030 Belgrade, Serbia; Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, Nemanjina 6, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Jasna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Savic
authors.affiliation: Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Maksima Gorkog 30, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors.forename: Nikola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hristov
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D007501:Iron / Q000032:analysis*; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry; D055771:Serbia; D012987:Soil; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*; D014908:Triticum / Q000737:chemistry*; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D014131:Trace Elements; D007501:Iron; D015032:Zinc
keywords: Iron; Phosphorus fertilization; Soil availability; Wheat grain; Zinc