Application of Zinc, Iron and Boron Enhances Productivity and Grain Biofortification of Mungbean

Deficiencies of essential vitamins, iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn) affect over one-half of the world's population. A sig-nificant progress has been made to control micronutrient deficiencies through supplementation, but new approaches are needed, especially to reach the rural poor. Agronomic biofortification of pulses with Zn, Fe, and boron (B) offers a pragmatic solution to combat hidden hunger instead of food fortification and supplemen-tation. Moreover, it also has positive effects on crop production as well. Therefore, we conducted three separate field experiments for two consecutive years to evaluate the impact of soil and foliar application of the aforemen-tioned nutrients on the yield and seed biofortification of mungbean. Soil application of Zn at 0, 4.125, 8.25, Fe at 0, 2.5, 5.0 and B at 0, 0.55, 1.1 kg ha-1 was done in the first, second and third experiment, respectively. Foliar application in these experiments was done at 0.3% Zn, 0.2% Fe and 0.1% B respectively one week after flowering initiation. Data revealed that soil-applied Zn, Fe and B at 8.25, 5.0 and 1.1 kg ha-1, respectively, enhanced the grain yield of mungbean; however, this increase in yield was statistically similar to that recorded with Zn, Fe and B at 4.125, 2.5 and 0.55 kg ha-1, respectively. Foliar application of these nutrients at flower initiation signifi- cantly enhanced the Zn contents by 28% and 31%, Fe contents by 80% and 78%, while B contents by 98% and 116% over control during 2019 and 2020, respectively. It was concluded from the results that soil application of Zn, Fe, and B enhanced the yield performance of mungbean; while significant improvements in seed Zn, Fe, and B contents were recorded with foliar application of these nutrients.

Automated summary

Deficiencies in essential vitamins, iron, and zinc affect more than half of the global population. Agronomic biofortification of pulses with these nutrients offers a pragmatic solution to combat hidden hunger and improve crop production. This study conducted three field experiments to evaluate the impact of soil and foliar application of these nutrients on mungbean yield and seed biofortification. The results showed that soil application enhanced the yield performance of mungbean, while foliar application significantly increased the contents of zinc, iron, and boron in the seeds.