Soil factors associated with zinc deficiency in crops and humans

Summary

This narrative review by Alloway synthesises the evidence on the soil factors — including high pH, low organic matter, calcareous and sandy soils, and waterlogging — that reduce zinc bioavailability to crops, with consequent implications for human dietary zinc intake. The paper likely draws on global datasets and case studies to illustrate how geochemical and agronomic conditions interact to produce both agronomic zinc deficiency and widespread human zinc deficiency, particularly in populations reliant on cereal-based diets. It is likely to discuss zinc fertilisation strategies as a potential agronomic intervention to address both crop and human health outcomes.

UK applicability

Although the review is global in scope, the findings are applicable to UK conditions where certain soil types — particularly chalk and limestone-derived soils with elevated pH — may limit zinc availability to crops; UK arable systems growing wheat and other cereals on such soils may benefit from the agronomic guidance on zinc management discussed in the paper.

Key measures

Soil zinc fractions (total and available Zn, mg/kg); soil pH; organic matter content; crop zinc concentration (mg/kg); prevalence of zinc deficiency in human populations

Outcomes reported

The paper examines the soil chemical and physical factors that reduce plant-available zinc, and discusses how zinc-deficient soils contribute to inadequate zinc intake in human populations dependent on staple crops grown on such soils.

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