Agronomic biofortification of rice and wheat with zinc: A metanalytical study

• Autor(a) principal: Sordi, Elisangela
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Outros Autores: Novakowiski, Jaqueline Huzar, Rebesquini, Renata, Benedetti, Tatiana, Carvalho, Ivan Ricardo, Lautenchleger, Francine, Bortoluzzi, Edson Campanhola
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Research, Society and Development
• Texto Completo: https://rsdjournal.org/index.php/rsd/article/view/15133
• topic: Produtividade; Conteúdo de Zinco nos grãos; Soberania alimentar; Nutrientes; Fome.; Productivity; Zinc content in grains; Food sovereignty; Nutrients; Hunger.; Productividad; Contenido de zinc in grano; Soberanía alimentaria; Nutrientes; Hambre.

A diet based on cereals may lack essential mineral elements, among them zinc. The provision of this element in diets can be via supplements, food fortifiers or agronomic biofortification (AB), a practice adopted on a farmer scale. It was carried out different studies in countries with specific local conditions. The meta-analysis allows combining quantitative results from different studies, providing a synthesis of results with high reliability. The objective of this work was to analyze the response of rice (Oryza spp.) and wheat (Triticum spp.) to fertilization with zinc in terms of grain yield and accumulation of this nutrient in the grain. We carried out a systematic review where 16 scientific articles from the last five years were selected, and 179 studies fitted the established criteria. The effect size for Zn application via leaf or soil in rice and wheat compared to the control was calculated using the natural logarithm (lnR) between the ratio of the treatment group and the control group for both variables. Agronomic biofortification with Zn increases grain yield (7%) and zinc content in grains (53%). These results depend on plant species and the fertilization way (via the soil or foliar spray).  Agronomic Biofortification may be a valuable strategy to combat malnutrition and guarantee food sovereignty.