Fortification is a cost-effective and sustainable approach, which is highly effective and has large coverage, especially in the poorer regions of the world. Fortification with the help of fertilizers would be a very rapid and practical approach to maximize mineral uptake and grain mineral accumulation in food crops immediately. Most of the Indian soils are deficient in micro, macronutrients, and organic matter, by following the fortification approach we can reduce Nutrient deficiency in soils. Organic matter is the best source for the enrichment of micronutrients, and biofertilizers and also releases nutrients slowly into soil for a long period during crop growth. About 75% of exogenous applications of Zn sources like ZnSO4 get fixed in the soil. Fixation of Zn in soils with pH > 7.0 increases with increasing concentration of carbonates, thus becoming unavailable and can be reverted to available form with Zn solubilizing bacteria through the production of organic acids viz., gluconic acid which is designated as a strong acid among the mono carboxylic group of acid and are found to be easily biodegradable. Gluconic acid has the major anion which may be an important agent that helps in the solubilization of insoluble Zn compounds and makes it available to plant roots.

1. 1

2. S.V. AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, TIRUPATI
DEPARTMENT OF SOIL SCIENCE AND AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY
SOILS-591
CREDIT SEMINAR ON
SIGNIFICANCE OF AGRONOMIC BIOFORTIFICATION
WITH ZINC IN MAIZE ( Zea mays.L)
N. RANGASWAMY
TAM/2020-024
2

3. FLOW OF PRESENTATION
INTRODUCTION
MICRONUTRIENT DEFICIENCY CURRENT DATA
MAJOR CAUSES OF MICRONUTRIENT DEFICIENCY IN SOIL
FORTIFICATION IN MAIZE (Zea mays .L)
IMPORTANCE OF FORTIFICATION IN MAIZE
COMPARISION OF FORTIFICATION WITH OTHER APPROACHES
FORTIFICATION FLOW CHART
APPROACHES IN FORTIFICATION
CASE STUDIES
CONCLUSION.
3

4.  Botanical Name : (Zea mays. L)
 Family : Poaceae
 Origin : Mexico
 Three types of roots
(a) Seminal roots
(b) Crown roots
(C) Brace/prop roots
INTRODUCTION
 Maize is one of the most important cereals, next to wheat and
rice in the world as well as in India.
 India is the seventh largest producer of maize in the world
with an average area of 9.2 million ha and a total production
of 30.24 million tonnes (Directorate of Economics and
Statistics, 2020-21) with a productivity of 5861 kg ha-1
(www.indiastat.com, 2019-2020).
 In Andhra Pradesh, maize is a major cereal grown during
both kharif and rabi seasons.
4

5.  It is one of the most versatile crop and can be grown over diverse environmental conditions and
also diversified uses in human food, animal feed and raw materials for large number of
industrial products. (Ayyar et al. 2019).
 Maize is also called as “Queen of Cereals” and is grown in more than 130 countries.
 With changing in food habits and the fast-growing poultry industry due to the increased
number of non-vegetarians in the state, demand for maize grain in the form of poultry feed is
continuously increasing.
 In India, at present, about 35% of the maize produced in the country is used for human
consumption, 25 % each in poultry feed and cattle feed, and 15 % in food processing (corn
flakes, popcorn, etc.) and other industries (mainly starch, dextrose, corn syrup, corn oil, etc.).
 Maize is a cross pollinated crop.
 Percentage oil content in Maize is 4%.
 The leading state of rabi maize is Bihar.
 Maize protein is called 'Zein'.
5

6. NUTRITIOUS VALUE
6

7. 7

8. Source:- US Department of Agriculture, USDAAgriculture Services ,(2020) 8

9. State wise Maize production share in India based on 2017- 2019
Source: ICAR-Indian Institute of maize Research
9

10. Source: ICAR-Indian Institute of maize Research 10

11. 1 Zea mays indurate (Flint corn) -Most cultivated in India.
2. Zea mays indentata (Dent corn)- most common in USA
3. Zea mays everta (Pop corn) - when they are heated the pressure built up
within the kernel suddenly result in an explosion and the grain is turned
inside out.
4. Zea mays saccharata (Sweet corn)- Sweeter than other
5.Zea mays amylacea (soft corn)
6.Zea mays tunicata (pod corn)
7.Zea mays ceratinakulesh (waxy corn)- Produces starch similar to tapioca.
Maize species: [Sturtevant,1899]
11

12.  Zinc is essential for the growth and metabolic activities of plants.
 Unfortunately, even though maize kernels supply many macro- and
micronutrients for human metabolic needs, the amounts of some essential
nutrients, including zinc, Iron are inadequate for consumers who rely on
maize as a major food staple.
 In sub-Saharan Africa, maize is typically provided to young children as a
daily breakfast and also intake in other forms by adults.
 In India maize is mainly used for human consumption & animal fodder but
due to this micronutrient deficiency especially Zn, it leads to a condition of
MALNUTRITION.
 Essentiality of Zn was discovered by- A.L. Summer and C.P. Lipman
 In plants Zn content varies from- 27 ppm to 100 ppm
12

13.  1 billion people reside in iodine-deficient regions.
 400 million people have vitamin-A deficiency all over the world.
 2.5 billion world population suffer from Zinc deficiency.
 1.6 billion population suffer from Iron deficiency.
Micronutrient Deficiency Current Data
 Malnutrition accounts 30 million death/year.
 3 billion people worldwide suffer micronutrients deficiency. (WHO,
2013)
13

14. 14

15. Global Zn deficiency Map in Human & Soil
15

16. zones No of
Samples
2014-2018
Zn Fe Cu Mn
East 18,769 29.4 5.3 2.1 3.5
North 16,432 19.3 11.4 4.5 7.9
South 43,602 54.3 12.3 9.8 6.5
West 22,328 48.8 17.9 0.2 3.6
All India 101,131 43.0 12.1 7.0 5.5
Deficiency Status of available Zn ( DTPA Extractable Zn %) in Soils of
different Zones of India
 Nearly 50% of Indian soils are Zn deficient which is expected to
increase to 65 % by 2030 if the trend continues.
Source: AICRP-MSPE Data base, (2019)
16

17. Major causes of micronutrient deficiency in soil
Source: Sustainability, (2019)
 Continuous use of high-analysis fertilizers.
 Low inherent level of micronutrients in the soil.
 Use of high-yielding cultivars.
 Over liming in acidic soils.
 Interactions among macro and micronutrients.
 Due to Sandy and calcareous soils.
 Decreased use of manures, composts and crop residues.
 Due to Parent Material inherent soil properties
 continuous cropping without nutrient replenishment
17

18. 18

19. 19

20. Possible solution to this
micronutrient deficiency
Supplementary
Dietary diversification
Commercial Fortification
Agronomic Fortification
20

21.  Increasing the available concentrations of micro-nutrients in edible portions of maize
plants through crop management is called Fortification in maize.
 Agronomic fortification is the application of nutrient-containing mineral fertilizers to the
soil or plant leaves i.,e (foliar), to increase micronutrient contents of the edible part of food
crops. Source: (Valence et al., (2017) Glob Food Sec 12: 8-14).
FORTIFICATION IN MAIZE
 FORTIFICATION is a Latin word "fortificare" which means
"make strong'.
 It is a method of increasing their nutritional value in crops
21

22.  Up to 75% of the daily calorie intake of the developing world people living in the rural
areas comes only from cereal-based foods with very low Zn concentrations (Cakmak,
2012)
 Commercial Fortification differs from Agronomic - fortification because it focuses on
making plant foods more nutritious as the plants are growing.
 A diet of 300-400 g cereals per day will supply only 4-6 mg Zn/day in the case of rice, 3-4
mg Zn/day in maize, and 11-18 mg Zn/day in the case of wheat
 Un-hulled rice -27-42 mg Zn kg/grain,
 polished rice- 13-15 mg Zn kg/grain,
 wheat grains- 38-47 mg Zn/kg
 Maize kernals- 25-30 mg Zn/kg
22

23. Importance of Fortification in maize
 To overcome the mal-nutrition in human beings.
 To increase the nutritional quality and quantity in maize.
It enhances micronutrient availability in soil for crop uptake & increases nutrient use
efficiency.
A commonly suggested strategy in this fortification is the combined use of mineral
fertilizer along with organic inputs to improve germplasm” in maize kernels
It also increase soil chemical, physical, and biological characteristics.
 So, this combination of mineral fertilizers and organic inputs is beneficial, because
they have complementary functions and enhance mutual effectiveness in soil.
Organic resources (plant residues and animal manure) help to sustain soil organic
matter with multiple benefits in terms of enhanced soil structure, Surface area, cation
exchange capacity, and water holding capacity.
23

24. Furthermore, where organic inputs provide slow but constant
nutrient release into the soil.
Successful fortification of food crops aims to increase not only the
nutrient content and concentration delivered in a diet but also the
bioavailability of these nutrients to consumers after consumption.
Fortification program in crop plants is a cost-effective, long term
and sustainable solution for alleviating malnutrition.
Indian Parliament had passed a budget which includes 5 million
for bio-fortification and fortification program (DBT) Direct
benefit transfer for rice, wheat, and maize over five years
24

25. Schematic overview of micronutrient (MN) pathway from soil to humans
and the factors that influence MN bioavailability to the next level.
Mayer et al. (2011)
25

26. Intervention Scope Economics
 Supplementation: giving
mineral drugs as clinical
treatment
 Recommended during
pregnancy , It is costly and
only recommended when a
very quick response is
required period
 It is costly and only
recommended when a very
quick response is required
 Food diversification  Applicable only where
alternative food products are
available with high
adaptability
 It is very uneconomical and
takes longer period for results
 Food modifications  It is less effective and not
popular in some area.
 It is economically feasible and
sustainable intervention
 FORTIFICATION  It is targeted and gives good
results in required crop.
 It is cost effective and
sustainable approach
Increases yield on
micronutrient deficiency Soils.
Comparison of Fortification over other Approaches
26

27. ROLE OF ZINC IN PLANT SYSTEM
Low Molecular weight Complexes of Zinc- Zn is associated with amino acids
Carbohydrate Metabolism- involved in photo synthesis and Co2 Fixation
Protein Metabolism- it activates RNA polymerase enzyme.
Membrane Integrity- Maintain cellular structures and ion transport system
Auxin Metabolism- Required for synthesis of Auxin, Tryptophan which is a
precursor of Auxin.
27

28. FORTIFICATION
FORTIFICATION IN MAIZE FLOW CHART
28

29. 29

30. 1. Soil Application
2. Foliar Application
3. Soil + Foliar Application
4. Seed treatment
5. Organic Matter
6. Soil amendments & sewage
APPROACHES IN AGRONOMIC FORTIFICATION
IN MAIZE
 Increase micronutrient concentration by following these methods
in Maize are:
Source: Imran & abdur, (2017)
30

31.  Broadcast fertilization can be improved by
incorporating fertilizer through ploughing
or disking.
 The advantages of the soil application
methods are that they are relatively fast
and economical.
Soil Application
 It is a method by which the fertilizers are
applied on the surface across an entire
field.
 Often high capacity spreaders are used to
spin dry fertilizer on the soil surface.
31

32.  Foliar application is effective for the application of
minor nutrients like iron, copper, boron, zinc and
manganese. Sometimes insecticides are also applied
along with fertilizers.
Foliar application
 Spraying of fertilizer solutions containing one or more
macro, micronutrients on the foliage of growing
plants.
 Several nutrient elements are readily absorbed by
leaves when they are dissolved in water and sprayed
on them.
 The concentration of the spray solution has to be
controlled otherwise serious damage may result due
to scorching of the leaves.
32

33.  Zinc solubilizing bacteria ( ZsB) reduces the fixation of
Zn by releasing organic acids like gluconic acids which
ultimately increase the uptake of zinc by plant roots and
also improve the bioavailability of Zn in maize kernels.
Seed treatment in maize
 Zinc solubilizing microorganisms solubilize zinc through
various mechanisms, one of which is acidification and
produces organic acids in soil that sequester the zinc
cations and decrease the pH of the soil (Alexander, 1997).
Moreover, the anions can also chelate zinc and enhance
zinc solubility (Jones and Darrah, 1994). Other
mechanisms possibly involved in zinc solubilization
include the production of siderophores (Saravanan et al.,
2011)
 One day after seed treatment with fungicide, treat the
seeds with 200 gms Zinc solubilizing bacteria (ZnsB)
with Jaggery and shade dry for 1 hour in low
temperature.
33

34.  Each percent of organic matter in the soil releases
20 to 30 pounds of nitrogen, 4.5 to 6.6 pounds of
P2O5, and 2 to 3 pounds of sulfur per year.
 Organic matter is a reservoir of nutrients that can
be released to the soil.
 When FYM was enriched with Zn and Fe it gave a
better result on growth parameters and yield
attributes
 Organic matter also releases acids which make
insoluble forms of nutrients into soluble forms &
increases the bioavailability of nutrients in kernels.
Organic matter Application
 The nutrient release occurs predominantly in the
spring and summer, so summer crops benefit
more from organic-matter mineralization than
winter crops. 34

35.  Sewage sludge combined with green
manuring can be applied in coastal
mudflat areas, salt affected soils where
it is used as an amendment, which
provides an innovative way to create
arable land resources and safe disposal
of sewage sludge.
Soil amendments & Sewage
 Sewage sludge and green manure
have become widely used organic
amendments to croplands in many
regions of the world.
 It also increases the bioavailability of
nutrients by releasing them slowly
into the soil
35

36. How Biofortification in crop Improve Food and Nutrition Security,
Comparison with conventional (non-Biofortified crops), with Biofortified
maize & Rice crops :
36

37. 37

38. Target Crops for Fortification in India
38

39. Case studies
39

40. Enrichment of Maize Grains with Zinc through
Agronomic Biofortification conducted at Assam
Agricultural University, Jorhat.
Journal of the Indian Society of Soil Science Kandali et al. (2021)
CASE STUDY-1
40

41. Maize yield (t ha-1)
Treatments Grain yield Stover yield
T1 : RDF (Recommended dose of fertilizers) 4.60 13.0
T2 : RDF+0.5% foliar spray of ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1 4.77 14.3
T3 : RDF+20 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1 5.03 15.0
T4 : RDF+20 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1+0.5% foliar spray 5.40 15.9
T5 : RDF+40 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1 6.00 13.9
T6 : RDF+40 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1+0.5% foliar spray 6.53 14.3
T7 : RDF+60 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1 6.63 13.2
T8 : RDF+60 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1+0.5% foliar spray 7.83 16.7
T9 : RDF+80 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1 7.57 15.6
T10 : RDF+80 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1+0.5% foliar spray 7.50 17.1
T11 : RDF+100 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1 7.47 14.8
T12 : RDF+100 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1+0.5% foliar spray 8.03 17.9
SEm ± 0.57 1.88
CD (P=0.05) 1.19 3.91
CV 8.73 12.7
Effect of zinc levels on grain yield and stover yield of maize
Table-1
41

42. Treatments
Zn content (mg
kg-1)
Zn content (mg
kg-1)
T1 : RDF (Recommended dose of fertilizers) 21.8 25.9
T2 : RDF+0.5% foliar spray of ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1 22.5 25.9
T3 : RDF+20 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1 25.1 31.4
T4 : RDF+20 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1+0.5% foliar Spray 30.0 34.6
T5 : RDF+40 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1 32.4 41.1
T6 : RDF+40 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1+0.5% foliar Spray 35.6 41.2
T7 : RDF+60 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1 37.8 45.8
T8 : RDF+60 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1+0.5% foliar Spray 41.1 49.4
T9 : RDF+80 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1 43.9 50.3
T10 : RDF+80 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1+0.5% foliar Spray 46.7 52.2
T11 : RDF+100 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1 46.7 55.3
T12 : RDF+100 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1+0.5% foliar Spray 46.9 56.3
SEm ± 1.22 1.86
CD (P=0.05) 2.54 3.26
CV 3.37 7.68
Effect of zinc levels on zinc content in maize grain and straw
Table-2
42

43. Agronomic biofortification of maize (Zea mays L.) with zinc by using
of graded levels of zinc in combination with zinc solubilizing bacteria
and Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi .
JOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION Suganya et al. (2020)
CASE STUDY-2
Treatment consisted two factors:
microbial inoculation
 M1: control,
 M2: AM fungi,
 M3: ZSB and
 M4: M2 & M3
Graded levels of ZnSO4
 S1: 0 Kg ha —1
 S2: 12.5 Kg ha —1
 S3: 25 Kg ha —1
 S4: 37.5 Kg ha —1
 S5: 50 Kg ha —1
 S6: 0.5% foliar spray @ 45 and 65 DAS
43

44. Black Soil Red Soil
Treatments S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6
M1 20.2 20.5 21.5 22.2 23.2 21.1 0.9 21.4 22.0 22.9 23.8 21.0
M2 20.5 22.2 23.1 24.5 25.4 20.4 21.3 22.9 23.8 24.9 25.8 21.7
M3 21.4 22.6 23.9 24.9 25.6 20.7 21.8 22.9 24.4 25.4 26.0 21.0
M4 22.3 22.9 24.7 25.6 25.9 22.8 22.9 23.5 25.4 26.1 26.6 23.0
Mean 21.1 22.1 23.3 24.3 25.0 21.3 21.7 22.7 23.9 24.8 25.6 21.7
SEd CD (0.05) SEd CD (0.05)
M 0.14 0.3 0.04 0.1
S 0.20 0.4 0.05 0.1
M X S 0.33 0.7 0.11 0.2
Table-3
Graded levels of Zn with Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and zinc solubilizing bacteria on zinc
content (ppm) of maize kernals.
44

45. Effects of different Zn sources on bio-Activated Organic Fertilizer
Enriched with Zinc-Solubilizing Bacteria to Boost up Maize (Zea
mays L.) Production and Biofortification under Two Cropping
Seasons conducted at University College of Agriculture &
Environmental Sciences,
Agronomy Hussain et al. (2019)
CASE STUDY-3
 BOZ1(9:1)- zinc oxide with Zn solubilizing bacteria
 BOZ2 (8:2)- zinc oxide with Zn solubilizing bacteria
 BOZ3 (7:3)- zinc oxide with Zn solubilizing bacteria
 BOZ4 (6:4)- zinc oxide with Zn solubilizing bacteria
45

46. Treatments
Plant
height(cm)
Season I
Plant
height(cm)
Season II
Dry Shoots
Biomass (t
ha−1) Season I
Dry Shoots
Biomass
(tha−1) Season
II
T1-Control 146.00 140.32 18.77 17.55
T2-ZnO 150.31 143.41 19.65 18.48
T3-ZnSO4 183.66 185.69 22.32 21.18
T4-BOZ1 179.47 180.54 21.15 20.65
T5-BOZ2 198.30 201.32 24.87 23.61
T6-BOZ3 210.33 210.54 25.38 24.19
T7-BOZ4 219.46 219.66 26.48 26.38
T8-ZSB 162.55 173.5 19.71 19.55
Effects of different Zn sources on growth of maize grown in two different
cropping seasons
Table-4
46

47. Pakistan Journal of Life and Social Sciences Yadav et al. (2018)
EFFECT OF Fe AND Zn ENRICHED WITH DIFFERENT
ORGANIC SOURCES ON AVAILABILITY OF DTPA
EXTRACTABLE Zn AND Fe ITS UPTAKE BY WHEAT
PLANTS
CASE STUDY-4
47

48. Treatment Details
T1 : RDNP + FYM @ 5 t ha-1 (Control)
T2 : RDNP + Fe @ 4 Kg ha-1 + Zn @ 2 Kg ha-1
T3 : FYM @ 2.5 t ha-1 + RDNP + Fe-Zn Enrichment No.1
T4 : FYM @ 2.5 t ha-1 + RDNP + Fe-Zn Enrichment No.2
T5 : FYM @ 2.5 t ha-1 + RDNP + FeZn Enrichment No. 3
T6 : FYM @ 2.5 t ha-1 + RDNP + Fe-Zn Enrichment No. 4
T7 : FYM @ 2.5 t ha-1 + 50% RDNP + Fe-Zn Enrichment No.1
T8 : FYM @ 2.5 t ha-1 + 50% RDNP + Fe-Zn Enrichment No.2
T9 : FYM @ 2.5 t ha-1 + 50% RDNP + FeZn Enrichment No.3
T10: FYM @ 2.5 t ha-1 + 50% RDNP + Fe-Zn Enrichment No.4
 Enrichment no. 1- contains 500 kg/ha FYM with 1kg/ha ZnSO4 .7H2 O + 2 kg/ha FeSO4 .5H2 O;
 Enrichment no. 2 -contains 500 kg/ha FYM with 2kg/ha ZnSO4 .7H2 O + 4 kg/ha FeSO4 .5H2 O;
 Enrichment no. 3 -contain 500 kg/ha Vermicompost with 1kg/ha ZnSO4 .7H2 O + 2 kg/ha FeSO4 .5H2O
 Enrichment no. 4 -contain 500 kg/ha Vermicompost with 2 kg/ha ZnSO4 .7H2 O + 4 kg/ha FeSO4 .5H2 O.
48

49. EFFECT OF Fe AND Zn ENRICHED WITH DIFFERENT ORGANIC SOURCES ON AVAILABILITY
OF DTPA EXTRACTABLE Zn AND Fe ITS UPTAKE BY WHEAT PLANTS
Grain Yield(q/ha) Biomass yield(q/ha)
2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Pooled 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Pooled
T1 47.08 37.45 41.85 42.13 98.76 72.34 97.65 95.11
T2 49.71 35.85 41.72 42.43 102.36 77.90 105.07 97.22
T3 49.55 36.01 48.44 44.67 110.51 79.71 101.45 104.17
T4 51.25 39.85 53.49 47.20 104.17 88.77 119.57 102.96
T5 42.70 38.08 50.29 43.69 103.26 82.43 123.19 105.74
T6 39.96 37.86 52.36 43.39 112.98 90.58 127.65 106.58
T7 42.64 34.89 42.08 39.87 106.88 57.86 125.00 98.31
T8 45.56 31.34 45.40 40.77 111.41 76.65 106.88 99.03
T9 44.18 34.95 43.03 40.72 110.51 70.65 115.94 99.09
T10 40.36 31.50 46.45 39.44 108.70 78.80 109.78 98.01
CD(0.05) 5.72 4.36 7.30 3.58 5.5 3.37 7.39 6.53
SEm+_ 1.92 1.85 2.46 1.26 NS 4.06 11.28 2.30
CV% 7.36 11.86 9.19 8.95 2.98 15.21 3.80 6.86
49

50. Effect of Iron and Zinc Enriched Organics on Growth, Yield
Attributes and Yield of Wheat in Loamy Sand soils conducted
at Gujarat.
Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. App. Sci Dharmesh et al. (2020)
CASE STUDY-5
50

51. Treatments Plant height
(cm)
Effective tillers
per meter
T1: RDF (120:60:00 kg N: P2O5 : K2O ha-1 ) 82.1 80.1
T2: RDF + 5 t FYM ha-1 82.3 90.1
T3: RDF + 2 t VC ha-1 84.0 91.2
T4: RDF + 5 t FYM ha-1 + 2 t VC ha-1 87.5 92.1
T5: RDF + 0.5 t FYM ha-1 + 5.00 kg Fe and 2.50 kg Zn ha-1 87.8 94.1
T6: RDF + 0.2 t VC ha-1 + 5.00 kg Fe and 2.50 kg Zn ha-1 88.4 94.8
T7: RDF + 0.5 t FYM ha-1 enriched with 5.00 kg Fe and 2.50 kg Zn 92.8 100.4
T8: RDF + 0.2 t VC ha-1 enriched with 5.00 kg Fe and 2.50 kg Zn 97.0 105.4
T9: RDF + 0.5 t FYM ha-1 enriched with 2.50 kg Fe and 1.25 kg Zn 91.8 99.3
T10: RDF + 0.2 t VC ha-1 enriched with 2.50 kg Fe and 1.25 kg Zn 94.4 101.9
S.Em± 2.9 3.5
C.D.(P = 0.05) 8.4 10.3
CV% 6.55 4.47
Table-6
51

52. Treatments Length of ear
head (cm)
Grains per ear
head
1000- grain
weight (g)
Grain Yield (kg ha-1
)
T1 7.65 29.19 37.7 4173
T2 7.67 30.22 39.3 4392
T3 7.92 30.51 39.5 4537
T4 8.28 31.13 39.8 4617
T5 8.39 33.16 40.1 4638
T6 8.45 34.22 40.1 4649
T7 8.85 37.54 41.2 4969
T8 9.5 40.77 43.1 5400
T9 8.53 35.21 40.6 4785
T10 9.07 38.41 42.1 5176
S.Em± 0.34 1.66 0.8 209
C.D.(P = 0.05) 0.98 4.81 2.3 607
CV% 8.03 9.74 4.01 8.84 52

53. Treatments Grain Yield
(q ha-1)
Stover Yield (q
ha-1)
Harvest index
(%)
Factor I : Seed treatment
T1 : No seed treatment
with Zn and Fe
69.70 100.89 40.46
T2 : Seed treatment with
Zn and Fe @ 1%
71.17 102.41 40.87
S. Em± 1.55 0.68 0.64
Modern Concepts & Development in Agronomy Nikhil Kumar et al. (2018)
Agronomic Biofortification of Maize with Zinc and Iron Micronutrients
conducted at Agricultural Research Station (ARS), Bailhongal.
CASE STUDY-6
Table-7
53

54. Factor III: Foliar spray
F1 : No foliar application of Zn and Fe 68.03 100.40 40.28
F2 : Foliar application of ZnSO4 and FeSO4 each@0.5% 72.83 102.90 41.05
S. Em ± 1.55 0.68 0.65
Factor II : Soil application
S1 : Control (No application of Zn and Fe ) 61.11 95.49 38.95
S2 :Soil application of recommended ZnSO4 and FeSO4 each@25kg
ha-1
69.42 99.26 41.05
S3 : FYM enriched ZnSO4 and FeSO4 application each@15kg ha-1 75.02 105.87 41.10
S4 : FYM enriched ZnSO4 and FeSO4 application each@25kg ha-1 76.18 105.97 41.55
S. Em ± 2.19 0.97 0.91
Table-9
Table-8
54

55. Journal of Agricultural Technology Apoorva et al. (2017)
Effect of zinc on yield nutrient content in grain and straw of
rice conducted at College farm, College of Agriculture,
PJTSAU, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad
CASE STUDY-7
55

56. S.No Treatments
Yield (kg ha-1) N content (%)
Grain Straw Grain Straw
T1 Control(no fertilizers were applied) 2604 3324 0.70 0.20
T2 Recommended dose of N:P205:K2O @120:60:40 Kg ha-1 3768 4621 1.18 0.34
T3
RDF+ Soil application of ZnSO4 @25Kg ha-1 at
transplanting
4807 5855 1.30 0.62
T4
RDF+ Soil application of nano zinc as impregnated
granules @10kgha-1at transplanting
3942 4806 0.85 0.54
T5
RDF+ Soil application of nano zinc as Impregnated
granules @15kg ha-1 at transplanting
4043 4963 0.97 0.58
T6
RDF+ Soil application of bio zinc @15kg ha-1 at
transplanting
4623 5531 0.97 0.54
T7
RDF+ Soil application of bio zinc @30kg ha- 1 at
transplanting
5355 6347 1.41 0.67
T8 RDF+ Foliar spray of 0.2% as ZnSO4 5268 6258 1.29 0.59
T9 RDF+ Foliar spray of 1ml l-1 as nano zinc 5247 6189 1.15 0.57
T10 RDF+ Foliar spray of 2ml l-1 as nano zinc 4370 5306 0.92 0.42
T11 RDF+Foliar spray of 1.5ml l -1 as bio zinc 4740 5740 1.09 0.59
T12 RDF+Foliar spray of 3ml l-1 as bio zinc 4625 5603 1.00 0.55
SE(m) ± 71.5 70.8 0.021 0.016
CD (P=0.05) 209.7 207.8 0.06 0.04
56

57. S.No P content (%) K content (%) Zn content (mg kg-1)
Grain Straw Grain Straw Grain Straw
T1 0.26 0.02 0.20 1.00 11.7 15.0
T2 0.57 0.11 0.38 1.31 17.4 20.5
T3 0.28 0.05 0.40 1.40 22.7 29.6
T4 0.39 0.03 0.36 1.40 18.0 23.4
T5 0.36 0.03 0.37 1.30 18.8 22.1
T6 0.32 0.03 0.41 1.35 20.8 22.5
T7 0.62 0.16 0.45 1.48 25.3 37.8
T8 0.38 0.05 0.42 1.45 23.4 34.2
T9 0.35 0.04 0.40 1.41 23.7 29.6
T10 0.35 0.04 0.39 1.33 20.8 22.0
T11 0.37 0.03 0.38 1.37 21.0 24.9
T12 0.34 0.02 0.35 1.35 20.2 24.4
SE(m) ± 0.012 0.007 0.019 0.014 1.39 1.41
CD (P=0.05) 0.035 0.020 0.05 0.04 4.12 4.18
57

58. Growth and yield of maize as influenced by zinc enrichment
through agronomic options conducted at College farm, College of
Agriculture, PJTSAU, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad
International Journal of Chemical Studies Nandini et al. (2020)
CASE STUDY-8
58

59. Treatments Grain Yield (q
ha-1)
Stover Yield (q
ha-1)
T1 - RDF alone (Control) [N: P2O5: K2O - 200:60:50 kg ha-1 ] 3020 6021
T2-RDF + Zinc Solubilising Bacteria (ZSB @ 1kg/100 kg FYM) 4686 8570
T3-RDF + FYM (25 t ha-1 ) 4506 8218
T4-RDF + Seed pelleting (3.6 g ZnSO4 kg-1 seed) 3930 7894
T5-RDF + FYM enrichment with 50 kg ZnSO4 ha-1 6053 9084
T6-RDF + 0.2% Foliar spray of ZnSO4 (Knee-high and Tasseling stages) 3129 6402
T7-RDF + ZSB (1kg/100 kg FYM) + 0.2% Foliar spray of ZnSO4 (Knee-
high and Tasseling stages)
5631 8883
T8-RDF + FYM (25 t ha-1 ) + 0.2% Foliar spray of ZnSO4 (Knee-high and
Tasseling stages)
4418 7988
T9-RDF +Seed pelleting + 0.2% Foliar spray of ZnSO4 (Knee-high and
Tasseling stages)
3919 7532
T10-RDF + FYM enrichment with 50 kg ZnSO4 ha-1 + 0.2% Foliar spray
of ZnSO4 (Knee-high and Tasseling stages)
4821 8823
SEm± 337 369
CD (p=0.05) 1010 1107
Table-12
59

60. Plant height (cm)
Treatments 30 DAS Knee-high stage 60 DAS At harvest
T1 56.33 63.53 101.10 150.73
T2 59.27 70.00 115.43 179.93
T3 68 76.07 114.40 179.47
T4 63.73 73.33 112.67 178.73
T5 70.13 82.33 120.37 185.07
T6 58.33 64.27 104.43 159.80
T7 65.33 73.80 119.07 183.67
T8 62.67 72.20 111.47 162.67
T9 66.25 79.73 112.80 168.13
T10 65.33 76.87 116.07 180.20
SEm± 2.61 3.77 4.78 6.08
CD (p=0.05) 7.82 11.29 NS 18.22
Table-11
60

61. Fortification of maize (Zea mays L.) by methods and
time of Zinc application conducted at Punjab.
Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry Amarinder Singh et al. (2019)
CASE STUDY-9
61

62. Treatments Cob length (cm) Grain yield
(q ha-1 )
T1 Control (only recommended dose of NPK fertilizer) 17.18 47.48
T2 Zn soil application (25kg/ha) 18.63 51.31
T3 Zn Foliar at knee stage (1%) 17.37 48.72
T4 Zn Foliar at tasseling (1%) 17.32 48.64
T5 Zn Foliar at Grain filling (1%) 17.18 48.10
T6 Zn Foliar at knee + tasseling (1%) 17.5 49.75
T7 Zn Foliar at knee + tasseling (1%) 17.39 49.48
T8 Zn Foliar at knee + tasseling +. Grain filling (1%) 17.6 49.87
T9 Znsoil + Znfoliar at knee stage (0.5% 18.8 51.78
T10 Znsoil + Znfoliar at tasseling (0.5%) 18..72 51.65
T11 Znsoil + Znfoliar at Grain filling (0.5%) 18.64 51.45
T12 Znsoil + Znfoliar at knee + tasseling (0.5%) 18.95 52.56
T13 Znsoil + Znfoliar at tasseling +Grain filling (0.5%) 18.77 52.37
T14 Znsoil + Znfoliar at knee + tasseling + Grain filling(0.5%) 19.02 53.23
CD (p = 0.05) 1.26 3.43
Table-13
62

63. Table-14 Treatments Test weight(gm) Plant Height(cm) LAI DMA
T1 19.55 183.59 3.6 111.86
T2 20.5 202.5 4.12 122.15
T3 20.05 185.36 3.69 114.78
T4 19.98 184.54 3.67 113.47
T5 19.95 183.78 3.63 112.78
T6 20.1 187.41 3.70 116.36
T7 20.08 184.72 3.68 115.47
T8 20.12 187.18 3.74 117.04
T9 20.55 204.29 4.23 123.41
T10 20.52 203.03 4.18 123.6
T11 20.5 202.66 4.12 122.82
T12 20.57 207.05 4.16 126.59
T13 20.55 203.61 4.19 125.19
T14 20.66 209.02 4.36 128.55
CD (p = 0.05) NS 7.40 0.24 6.62
63

64.  Fortification is a cost-effective and sustainable approach, which is highly effective and has
large coverage, especially in the poorer regions of the world.
 Fortification with the help of fertilizers would be a very rapid and practical approach to
maximize mineral uptake and grain mineral accumulation in food crops immediately.
CONCLUSION
 Most of the Indian soils are deficient in micro, macronutrients and organic matter, by
following the fortification approach we can reduce Nutrient deficiency in soils.
 Organic matter is the best source for the enrichment of micronutrients, and biofertilizers
and also releases nutrients slowly into soil for a long period during crop growth.
 About 75% of exogenous applications of Zn sources like ZnSO4 get fixed in the soil.
 Fixation of Zn in soils with pH > 7.0 increases with increasing concentration of carbonates, thus
becoming unavailable and can be reverted to available form with Zn solubilizing bacteria through the
production of organic acids viz., gluconic acid which is designated as a strong acid among the mono
carboxylic group of acid and are found to be easily biodegradable. Gluconic acid has the major anion
which may be an important agent that helps in the solubilization of insoluble Zn compounds and
makes it available to plant roots. 64

65. 65