Characterizing Lentil Germplasm for Zinc Biofortification and High Grain Output

Abstract

Micronutrient malnutrition particularly of zinc (Zn) attributes a worse situation mainly in South Asia in addition to the food security. Pulses contribute significantly towards providing calories to the masses in developing countries being the cheap source of protein. Zinc biofortification of pulses mainly of lentil can be a good strategy aimed at both increased profit as well as can combat Zn deficiency in humans. A field experiment was conducted to classify the lentil genotypes based on their higher grain output and grain Zn concentration. The 16 lentil genotypes were cultivated with the following Zn levels: 0, 6 and 9 mg kg −1 and recommended dose of primary nutrients (nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K)) were applied with three replicates until maturity. Results revealed that application of Zn increased the plant growth, grain production and grain Zn concentration significantly. Zinc application at higher rates i.e. 9 mg kg −1 resulted in higher grain output and concentration of Zn in grain than lower application rate and control. The genotype Mansehra-89 was excellent in terms of high grain output and high Zn contents in their grains. The lentil genotypes, Mansehra-89, Punjab Masoor-2009, Masoor-2002 and Masoor-2006, were classified as high grain yield cultivars, and Line-10502, Mansehra-89, Line-11504 and Markaz-09 were categorized as Zn efficient/responsive genotypes. From the results, it was concluded that the lentil genotypes respond differently upon Zn fertilization and thus improved the crop yield and Zn enrichment of lentil grains. However, keeping in view the desired level of bioavailable Zn, further experimentation is required for general recommendations for right source and application methods. Moreover, these categorizations are helpful in future breeding ventures and to recommend the efficient cultivars aiming at increased Zn contents in grains.

Biofortification of Forage Peas with Combined Application of Selenium and Zinc Under Mediterranean Conditions

“…Selenium plays in livestock an essential role in many physiological functions and biological processes (Ghaderzadeh et al 2016), integrating many mammalian enzymes, such as glutathione peroxidases (Reich and Hondal 2016) and selenoproteins (Allmang and Krol 2006). The recommended values of Se intake for livestock range from 0.1 to 0.5 mg Se kg −1 feed dry matter (DM; Suttle 2010).…”

Agronomic Biofortification of Zinc in Pakistan: Status, Benefits, and Constraints

“…In a recent study, Ullah et al (2020c) characterized 16 chickpea genotypes (under field environment) for grain Zn biofortification potential and found that the tested genotypes have low to moderate genetic diversity and very narrow diversity for grain Zn concentration (37.5-48.6 mg kg −1 ) and bioavailable Zn (3.72-4.42 mg day −1 ). However, Rasheed et al (2020) reported great variation for grain Zn and phytate concentration in lentil genotypes as the grain Zn and phytate concentrations ranged from 40 to 75 and 6.21 to 28.59 mg kg −1 , respectively, while 1.49-4.02 mg Zn day −1 estimated bioavailable Zn was present in grains of lentil genotypes.…”

“…In a recent field study, Ullah et al (2020d) demonstrated that Zn application through seed treatments, soil, and foliar application in combination with plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) limited the grain phytate accumulation, and enhanced the grain Zn concentration and estimated bioavailable Zn (3.99-4.45 mg Zn day −1 ) in desi chickpea. Likewise, Rasheed et al (2020) applied soil Zn to 16 lentil genotypes and found that soil Zn (9 mg Zn kg −1 soil) application substantially fostered the grain Zn concentration and estimated bioavailable Zn (2.17-2.97 mg day −1 ) in tested lentil genotypes.…”

“…Abid et al (2017) demonstrated that wheat plants showing overexpression of Aspergillus japonicus gene "phy A" exhibited high phytase activity and enhanced Zn bioavailability in wheat endosperm. Moreover, many studies have reported the genetic diversity for grain Zn concentration in cereals (Hussain et al, 2012b;Rehman et al, 2018d) and legumes (Rasheed et al, 2020;Ullah et al, 2020c).…”

“…In Pakistan, the research on agronomic biofortification interventions to enhanced grain Zn deposition and bioavailability in cereals (wheat and rice) has been done by many scientists (Hussain et al, 2012a,b;Farooq et al, 2018;Rehman et al, 2018b,c,d;Rashid et al, 2019;Nadeem et al, 2020a,b). However, recently, the research on legumes (chickpea and lentil) biofortification has also got attention (Rasheed et al, 2020;Ullah et al, 2020a,c,d,e). Farooq and colleagues have optimized several seed treatments (seed coating and seed priming) protocols for micronutrients delivery in rice, wheat, and chickpea along with soil and foliar fertilization in both Laboratory and field environments (Rehman et al, 2015(Rehman et al, , 2018bRehman and Farooq, 2016;Ullah et al, 2019Ullah et al, , 2020a).…”