Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 3 — Observational / field trialPeer-reviewed

Zinc biofortification in wheat: Nordic experience

Seppälä, T. et al.

2020

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Summary

This paper presents findings from agronomic zinc biofortification trials conducted in Nordic wheat-growing conditions, examining the efficacy of zinc fertilisation strategies for increasing grain zinc concentrations. Drawing on field-based experimentation, it likely evaluates foliar zinc application as a practical route to improving the nutritional quality of wheat grain in northern European production systems. The study contributes regional evidence to the broader international HarvestPlus and biofortification literature, which is predominantly generated in lower-income country contexts.

UK applicability

The Nordic agronomic environment — characterised by cool temperatures, relatively short growing seasons, and comparable soil types to northern UK arable regions — makes these findings reasonably applicable to Scottish and northern English wheat production contexts. UK growers and policymakers considering agronomic biofortification as a low-cost intervention to address population zinc insufficiency may find the fertiliser response data directly relevant.

Key measures

Grain zinc concentration (mg/kg); zinc fertiliser application rates; grain yield (t/ha); zinc use efficiency

Outcomes reported

The study likely assessed grain zinc concentration achieved through agronomic biofortification approaches (principally foliar and soil zinc application) across Nordic wheat production environments. It probably reported effects on zinc accumulation in grain relative to baseline concentrations and potential human dietary intake implications.

Theme
Nutrition & health
Subject
Crop micronutrient quality & biofortification
Study type
Research
Study design
Field trial
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark)
System type
Arable cereals
Catalogue ID
XL0387

Topic tags

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