Mineral biofortification and metal/metalloid accumulation in food crops: recent research and trends (Part III)
Shahid Hussain
A *
A Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan.
Crop & Pasture Science 73(8) 733-735 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP22223
Submitted: 27 June 2022 Accepted: 28 June 2022 Published: 11 July 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing
Abstract
This is the third and the last part of the special issue on Mineral Biofortification and Metal/Metalloid Accumulation in Food Crops. A brief description of the research articles included in this part of the special issue is provided.
Introduction
Widespread deficiencies of essential minerals in human populations require the agricultural sector to produce nutritious plant-based foods. For that, mineral biofortification of food crops is a promising approach (Stangoulis and Knez 2022). On the other hand, the contamination of soil resources and the resultant accumulation of heavy metal(loid)s in food crops have increased dietary exposure to these toxic elements (Anaman et al. 2022). In such a situation, developing strategies for producing mineral-dense plant-based foods having only the permissible levels of heavy metal(loid)s is urgent and highly challenging.
Considering the importance of the research area, a special issue of Crop & Pasture Science was called to publish the latest research on Mineral Biofortification and Metal/Metalloid Accumulation in Food Crops. In response to the call, 226 manuscripts were submitted to the journal from the six continents. Due to time and page limitations, we were able to publish only 52 manuscripts in the special issue. Thirty-three articles were included in the previous two parts of the special issue (Hussain 2022a, 2022b) and the remaining 19 are included in this last part.
Mineral biofortification
Many scientists are now working to develop effective and sustainable approaches to agronomic biofortification. Chugh et al. (2022) reviewed the current use of iron (Fe) nano-fertilisers for Fe biofortification; they also identified the challenges that must be addressed to optimise nano-fertilisation for sustainable agriculture. For wheat grown in acidic soil, Jalal et al. (2022a) compared foliar rates of ZnO nanoparticles for increasing grain zinc (Zn) concentration and grain yield. In oat, concentrations of selenium (Se) in grains from soil application of nano-elemental Se were 7- to 20-fold higher than the concentrations in those from bulk elemental Se, but 5- to 16-fold lower than the concentrations in those from sodium selenate (Zeinali et al. 2022). Grain yield of oat, however, was significantly higher with nano-elemental Se than the other sources tested in the study.
Macronutrients [e.g. nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S)] may influence soil and plant processes that control soil mobilisation, root uptake, shoot translocation and grain accumulation of micronutrients. Several studies on biofortification have reported positive effects of the combined applications of N and micronutrients (see Kaur and Singh 2022). Based on field experiments, Petković et al. (2022) recommended combining N applications with Zn and Se applications for increased fodder yield and improved mineral composition. In another study, both the soil application of Se-enriched urea and foliar spray of Se significantly increased Se contents in grains of common beans (Araújo et al. 2022). Integrated approaches to nutrient management may also influence mineral biofortification in crop plants. For example, summer green manuring and elemental S fertilisation of rice–wheat cropping system had significant effects (compared with respective controls) on increasing grain micronutrient concentrations (Zn, Fe, copper and manganese) and grain yields (Mandi et al. 2022). For wheat, a sustainable approach to Zn biofortification is combining soil Zn application with inoculation of diazotrophic bacteria on seeds (Jalal et al. 2022b).
Micronutrient fertilisers remain the key method of agronomic biofortification. In field-grown peas, the combined foliar applications of Zn and Se increased Zn and Se concentrations in grains by around 30% and 73%, respectively (Reynolds-Marzal et al. 2022). Comparing different soil Zn rates, Verma et al. (2022) recommended 10 kg Zn ha−1 for field-grown rice as the best treatment for grain yield, benefit-cost ratio, and grain Zn accumulation. Comparing selenite and selenate at two rates (5 and 10 mg Se kg−1), Zafeiriou et al. (2022) found that a relatively high fraction of the soil-applied selenate was translocated to shoots of rocket plants, but the higher rate (i.e. 10 mg selenate kg−1) was toxic for plant growth.
Metal/metalloid accumulation
Under the increasing soil pollution, it is becoming a challenge to produce plant-based foods that have only permissible levels of toxic metals. For mung beans grown in cadmium (Cd)-contaminated nutrient solution, the application of ZnO nanoparticles increased not only Zn but also Cd concentration in shoots (Rashid et al. 2022). Sohail et al. (2022) reviewed the agronomic and genetic approaches that are important for producing cereal grains high in Fe but low in toxic metal(loid)s [such as Cd, lead (Pb) and arsenic (As)]. Mamun et al. (2022) summarised the latest reports on the use of various organic amendments for soil immobilisation of metals contained in P fertilisers. In tomato plants, application of extract from Halopteris filicina (macro-alga) decreased Pb accumulation, with concurrent stabilisation of genomic DNA and stimulation of plant growth (Unal et al. 2022).
Mondal et al. (2022) provided a comprehensive review of current knowledge on proteomic, transcriptomic and genomic approaches to metal tolerance in plants along with an extensive discussion on the underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms. Evaluating 130 accessions of durum wheat, Alsaleh et al. (2022) identified low-Cd genotypes by employing phonotypic (i.e. grain Cd concentration) and genotypic (i.e. molecular markers) parameters. The genotypic differences in plants determine their tolerance to metal stresses. For example, fenugreek tolerated high Fe concentrations by multiple adaptive mechanisms (Mnafgui et al. 2022). By partitioning significantly more Pb in roots, fenugreek was relatively more tolerant to Pb than Cd stress (Melki et al. 2022).
Conflicts of interest
The author declares no conflicts of interest.
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