title: Biofortification of Wheat Cultivars to Combat Zinc Deficiency.
abstract: Zinc (Zn) deficiency caused by inadequate dietary intake is a global nutritional problem, particularly in developing countries. Therefore, zinc biofortification of wheat and other cereal crops is being urgently addressed and highly prioritized as a research topic. A field study was planned to evaluate the influence of zinc application on grain yield, grain zinc content, and grain phytic acid concentrations of wheat cultivars, and the relationships between these parameters. Three wheat cultivars, C1= Faisalabad-2008, C2= Punjab-2011, and C3= Millet-2011 were tested with five different methods of zinc application: T1= control, T2= seed priming, T3= soil application, T4= foliar application, and T5= soil + foliar application. It was found that grain yield and grain zinc were positively correlated, whereas, grain phytic acid and grain zinc were significantly negatively correlated. Results also revealed that T5, T3, and T4considerably increased grain yield; however, T2only slightly enhanced grain yield. Grain zinc concentration increased from 33.1 and 33.7 mg kg-1in T1to 62.3 and 63.1 mg kg-1in T5in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, respectively. In particular, T5markedly decreased grain phytic acid content; however, maximum concentration was recorded in T1. Moreover, all the tested cultivars exhibited considerable variation in grain yield, grain zinc, and grain phytic acid content. In conclusion, T5was found to be most suitable for both optimum grain yield and grain biofortification of wheat.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad U
authors.initials: MU
authors.lastname: Chattha
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad U
authors.initials: MU
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad Pakistan.
authors.forename: Imran
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Agricultural Sciences, University of the Punjab Lahore, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Chattha
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad Pakistan.
authors.forename: Athar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mahmood
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy, Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad U
authors.initials: MU
authors.lastname: Chattha
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture, Bahadur Campus Layyah, Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nawaz
authors.affiliation: Institute of Agricultural Sciences, University of the Punjab Lahore, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Subhani
authors.affiliation: Department of Management Sciences, National Textile University Faisalabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Mina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kharal
authors.affiliation: Department of Agriculture, Government of Punjab Lahore, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Sadia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khan
keywords: biofortification; grain phytic acid; grain zinc contents; zinc application methods; zinc deficiency