Agronomic Biofortification of Vegetable Crops–A Systematic Review
Swagat Ranjan Behera *
Department of Vegetable Science, College of Agriculture, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand-263145, India.
Isha
Department of Soil Science, College of Agriculture, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand-263145, India.
Riya Pandey
Department of Vegetable Science, College of Agriculture, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand-263145, India.
Mondeddula Dhathri
Division of Vegetable Science, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, Delhi-110012, India.
Pragti Negi
Department of Agriculture, School of Agricultural Sciences, Sardar Bhagwan Singh University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand-248001, India.
Riya Jakhwal
Department of Vegetable Science, College of Horticulture, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh-250110, India.
Swapnashree Sahoo
Department of Agronomy, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh-221005, India.
Himanshu Bhatt
Department of Vegetable Science, College of Agriculture, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand-263145, India.
Arti Gairola
Department of Vegetable Science, College of Agriculture, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand-263145, India.
Ankita Mohapatra
Department of Vegetable Science, College of Agriculture, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha-751003, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Mineral deficiency is prevalent in the diets of more than two-thirds of the world’s population. This problem can be solved by diversifying the diet, supplementing minerals, enriching foods or increasing the concentration and/or bioavailability of essential mineral elements in products (i.e., biofortification). Vegetables represent the backbone of good nutrition as they are a rich source of dietary fibre, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, and biofortification is a promising method of increasing the content of these compounds in vegetables. Given the significance of minerals in human diet and metabolism, the possibility of adding minerals to fresh vegetables through the use of specific agronomic methods has been considered. This review thoroughly examines the most recent research on agronomic biofortification of vegetable crops, with an aim of increasing the content of important micronutrients, such as iron, zinc, molybdenum and copper, in the edible parts, with an emphasis on the effects of this strategy. Although agronomic biofortification is considered a practicable technique, the approach is multifaceted due to several interactions occurring at the crop level, as well as the bioavailability of different minerals to plants and consumers.
Keywords: Agronomic biofortification, bioavailability, human diet, minerals, vegetables