Foliar Zn Application Increases Zn Content in Biofortified Potato

Shirley Zevallos, Elisa Salas (), Pedro Gutierrez, Gabriela Burgos, Bert De Boeck, Thiago Mendes, Hugo Campos and Hannele Lindqvist-Kreuze
Additional contact information
Shirley Zevallos: Centro Internacional de la Papa, P.O. Box 1558, Lima 12, Peru
Elisa Salas: Centro Internacional de la Papa, P.O. Box 1558, Lima 12, Peru
Pedro Gutierrez: Departamento de Suelos, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, P.O. Box 12-056, Lima 12, Peru
Gabriela Burgos: Centro Internacional de la Papa, P.O. Box 1558, Lima 12, Peru
Bert De Boeck: Centro Internacional de la Papa, P.O. Box 1558, Lima 12, Peru
Thiago Mendes: Centro Internacional de la Papa, P.O. Box 1558, Lima 12, Peru
Hugo Campos: Centro Internacional de la Papa, P.O. Box 1558, Lima 12, Peru
Hannele Lindqvist-Kreuze: Centro Internacional de la Papa, P.O. Box 1558, Lima 12, Peru

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: Given the widespread micronutrient deficiencies in vulnerable populations, crop biofortification has been proposed as a solution to increase nutrient concentrations. This study aimed to determine the effect of combining biofortification strategies on the agronomic characteristics and nutritional composition of potato. The effect of foliar fertilization (FF) with zinc (Zn) on five potato genotypes (G): four biofortified clones developed through conventional breeding with different Zn levels (high, medium, and low in Zn, and one high in Fe and Zn) and a commercial variety (‘Yungay’) were evaluated. At harvest, the number of tubers per plant, the weight of tubers per plant, and the average tuber weight were evaluated as yield components, and tuber samples were collected for micronutrient determination. For yield components, the analysis with linear mixed models showed no significant G × D interaction effects, but highly significant differences were observed among G. The Zn concentration in tubers showed a highly significant effect in the G × D interaction. The simple effects analysis showed that biofortified genotypes responded to FF with Zn by significantly increasing the tuber Zn concentrations by an average of 43% (range 28–61%), despite growing in alkaline soils. In contrast, the ‘Yungay’ variety showed a 6% increase. Clones biofortified through conventional genetic improvement responded better to agronomic FF with Zn compared to the non-biofortified commercial variety, demonstrating that both are synergistic strategies that can achieve a significant increase in Zn concentrations in tubers. The result of this study might be used to further biofortification efforts and decrease nutritional deficiencies.

Keywords: agronomic biofortification; foliar fertilization; Solanum tuberosum (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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