A new study from The University of Western Australia has examined how to increase zinc concentration in wheat to address a dietary deficiency in the global population.
Dr Yinglong Chen, from UWA's School of Agriculture and Environment, collaborated with researchers from Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University on the international study published in Nature Communications.
"Zinc deficiency affects nearly 17 per cent of the global population, impairing growth, immunity and resistance to infections," Dr Chen said.
"Wheat is a major food for many people, but it naturally has low zinc, so we wanted to explore ways to boost the concentration."
Zinc is naturally low in Australian agricultural soil and the study found adding zinc to soil only slightly increased levels, however spraying zinc on the wheat leaves gave a much bigger boost to levels in the grain.
The best result came from adding zinc to the soil, together with leaf spraying, which can increase zinc in the grain by more than 60 per cent.
"The success of the method depended on how much zinc was already in the wheat and the soil and at what point in the grain's growth the leaf was sprayed," Dr Chen said.
Spraying zinc during late developmental stages, such as flowering and the completion of growth and development in the plants, was found to be most efficient for maximising zinc uptake.
"This study gives farmers practical advice on how much zinc to use based on their soil and wheat," Dr Chen said.
"By applying zinc more strategically, especially through foliar methods and combined approaches, farmers can significantly improve the nutritional quality of wheat.
"This evidence-based strategy offers a scalable, practical solution to mitigate zinc deficiency globally."
