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Research Partnerships with Developing Countries
A Programme funded by Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)

Agronomic Biofortification to Fight Human Zn Deficiency in Arid Regions

Zinc (Zn) deficiency is a major problem of human mineral nutrition worldwide. It is particularly severe where populations depend on cereals as staple food and suffer from lack of legumes and animal products. This situation is widespread in wheat-producing semi-arid and arid regions of developing countries. Low Zn nutritional value of cereals was found to be related to low availability of soil Zn for uptake by plants in these areas. This project aims to identify agricultural management practices by which Zn accumulation in wheat grains and its availability in the grains for uptake by humans can be enhanced, a strategy called agronomic biofortification. The problem of low Zn accumulation by cereals grown in arid regions is generally not due to an absolute lack of Zn in the soil, but that soil Zn is not sufficiently available in a form that can be taken up by the plants. Thus, the objective is to find feasible management schemes by which farmers can increase soil Zn phytoavailability. We are studying three approaches: 1) soil amendment with organic compounds that have the ability to solubilize soil Zn and to enhance its transfer from the soil to the roots of wheat plants, 2) incorporation of organic matter such as crop residues and green manure, and 3) modification of cropping system by growing inter-crop plants enhancing the availability of soil Zn to subsequent wheat crops. The goal is to obtain information that can be easily translated into recommendation for farmers but at the same time we also aim to improve the understanding of limiting mechanisms and processes involved in this type of biofortification in order to enhance the transferability of the knowledge gained to other site conditions and management schemes.

Contact Addresses:

Prof. Rainer Schulin
Institut für Terrestrische Ökosysteme
Fachbereich Bodenschutz
ETH Zürich
CHN
Universitätstrasse 16
CH-8092 Zürich
rainer.schulin(at)env.ethz.ch

Majid Afyuni
Department of Soil Science
College of Agriculture
Isfahan University of Technology
IR-84154 Isfahan
Iran
afyuni(at)cc.iut.ac.ir

Amir Khoshgoftarmanesh
Department of Soil Science
College of Agriculture
Isfahan University of Technology
IR-84154 Isfahan
amirhkosh(at)cc.iut.ac.ir


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		Research Partnerships with Developing Countries A Programme funded by Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) Agronomic Biofortification to Fight Human Zn Deficiency in Arid Regions Zinc (Zn) deficiency is a major problem of human mineral nutrition worldwide. It is particularly severe where populations depend on cereals as staple food and suffer from lack of legumes and animal products. This situation is widespread in wheat-producing semi-arid and arid regions of developing countries. Low Zn nutritional value of cereals was found to be related to low availability of soil Zn for uptake by plants in these areas. This project aims to identify agricultural management practices by which Zn accumulation in wheat grains and its availability in the grains for uptake by humans can be enhanced, a strategy called agronomic biofortification. The problem of low Zn accumulation by cereals grown in arid regions is generally not due to an absolute lack of Zn in the soil, but that soil Zn is not sufficiently available in a form that can be taken up by the plants. Thus, the objective is to find feasible management schemes by which farmers can increase soil Zn phytoavailability. We are studying three approaches: 1) soil amendment with organic compounds that have the ability to solubilize soil Zn and to enhance its transfer from the soil to the roots of wheat plants, 2) incorporation of organic matter such as crop residues and green manure, and 3) modification of cropping system by growing inter-crop plants enhancing the availability of soil Zn to subsequent wheat crops. The goal is to obtain information that can be easily translated into recommendation for farmers but at the same time we also aim to improve the understanding of limiting mechanisms and processes involved in this type of biofortification in order to enhance the transferability of the knowledge gained to other site conditions and management schemes. Contact Addresses: Prof. Rainer Schulin Institut für Terrestrische Ökosysteme Fachbereich Bodenschutz ETH Zürich CHN Universitätstrasse 16 CH-8092 Zürich rainer.schulin(at)env.ethz.ch Majid Afyuni Department of Soil Science College of Agriculture Isfahan University of Technology IR-84154 Isfahan Iran afyuni(at)cc.iut.ac.ir Amir Khoshgoftarmanesh Department of Soil Science College of Agriculture Isfahan University of Technology IR-84154 Isfahan amirhkosh(at)cc.iut.ac.ir