Agronomic Biofortification of Zinc in Rice for Diminishing Malnutrition in South Asia

Panneerselvam Peramaiyan, Peter Craufurd, Virender Kumar, Lavanya P. Seelan, Andrew J. McDonald, Balwinder-Singh, Avinash Kishore and Sudhanshu Singh
Additional contact information
Panneerselvam Peramaiyan: South Asia Regional Center, International Rice Research Institute, Varanasi 221106, India
Peter Craufurd: International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, Kathmandu 44700, Nepal
Virender Kumar: International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños 4031, Philippines
Lavanya P. Seelan: South Asia Regional Center, International Rice Research Institute, Varanasi 221106, India
Andrew J. McDonald: Soil and Crop Sciences Section, School of Integrative Plant Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Balwinder-Singh: Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Northam, WA 6401, Australia
Avinash Kishore: South Asia Office, International Food Policy Research Institute, New Delhi 110012, India
Sudhanshu Singh: South Asia Regional Center, International Rice Research Institute, Varanasi 221106, India

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 13, 1-20

Abstract: Zinc (Zn) is increasingly recognized as an essential trace element in the human diet that mediates a plethora of health conditions, including immune responses to infectious diseases. Interestingly, the geographical distribution of human dietary Zn deficiency overlaps with soil Zn deficiency. In South Asia, Zn malnutrition is high due to excessive consumption of rice with low Zn content. Interventions such as dietary diversification, food fortification, supplementation, and biofortification are followed to address Zn malnutrition. Among these, Zn biofortification of rice is the most encouraging, cost-effective, and sustainable for South Asia. Biofortification through conventional breeding and transgenic approaches has been achieved in cereals; however, if the soil is deficient in Zn, then these approaches are not advantageous. Therefore, in this article, we review strategies for enhancing the Zn concentration of rice through agronomic biofortification such as timing, dose, and method of Zn fertilizer application, and how nitrogen and phosphorus application as well as crop establishment methods influence Zn concentration in rice. We also propose data-driven Zn recommendations to anticipate crop responses to Zn fertilization and targeted policies that support agronomic biofortification in regions where crop responses to Zn fertilizer are high.

Keywords: rice; Zn deficiency; agronomic biofortification; crop management; grain zinc; Zn sulfate; Zn-coated urea; Zn application; data-driven recommendations; digital soil mapping; policy options (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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