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Agronomy
Special Issues
Biofortification of Field Crops
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Biofortification of Field Crops

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Innovative Cropping Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2022) | Viewed by 7816

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Leo Sabatino

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Sciences (SAAF), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 5, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Interests: vegetable production; vegetable grafting; soilless cultivation; nutritional and nutraceutical vegetable fruit quality linked to cultivation conditions and practices; biofortification of leafy and fruiting vegetable crops, propagation of ornamental plants
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Giovanni Iapichino

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali (SAAF), University of Palermo, viale delle Scienze, ed. Palermo 5, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Interests: floricultural crops production; propagation of ornamental plants; in vitro tissue culture; micropropagation, vegetable crops and grafting
Dr. Beppe Consentino

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Sciences (SAAF), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 5, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Interests: agriculture; plant nutrition
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We recently accepted an invitation to serve as Guest Editors for a Special Issue titled “Biofortification of Field Crops”. Based on your expertise in this field, we would like to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue.

Nowadays, more than 2 billion people worldwide suffer from micronutrient and vitamin deficiency, leading to so-called “hidden hunger”. An increase in these components in field and vegetable crops (biofortification)—through conventional breeding, agronomic approaches and genetic engineering—can alleviate human malnutrition. Micronutrients/trace elements (Fe, Zn, Ca, Mg, Se, I, Mo, etc.) and vitamins (such as provitamin A and folate) are imperative constituents, and therefore biofortification aims both at increasing their concentration in crop tissues (direct effect) and at enhancing food quality (indirect effect).

Thus, in this Special Issue, we are accepting original research, critical reviews, perspectives and opinions exploring innovative biofortification tools/strategies in field and vegetable crops (including those cultivated in protected environments). We also encourage contributions focusing on the interactive effects of biofortification techniques and other agronomic practices on crop productivity and quality. Contributions focusing on the effects of biofortification on the post-harvest quality of field and vegetable crops will also be taken into consideration.

Dr. Leo Sabatino
Prof. Dr. Giovanni Iapichino
Guest Editors
Beppe Benedetto Consentino
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • micronutrient malnourishment
  • micronutrient enrichment
  • field crops
  • vegetables
  • biofortification
  • vegetable quality
  • functional food
  • human health

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1597 KiB  
Article
Improvement of Photosynthetic Pigment Characteristics, Mineral Content, and Antioxidant Activity of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) by Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus and Seaweed Extract Foliar Application
by Mohammad Asadi, Farzad Rasouli, Trifa Amini, Mohammad Bagher Hassanpouraghdam, Somaye Souri, Sona Skrovankova, Jiri Mlcek and Sezai Ercisli
Agronomy 2022, 12(8), 1943; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agronomy12081943 - 18 Aug 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2010
Abstract
Beneficial plant–microbe interaction for enhancing crop yield and quality is a sustainable way to achieve eco-friendly, desirable agricultural productions. The main objective of this experiment was to evaluate the individual and combined effects of an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) strain (Funneliformis mosseae [...] Read more.
Beneficial plant–microbe interaction for enhancing crop yield and quality is a sustainable way to achieve eco-friendly, desirable agricultural productions. The main objective of this experiment was to evaluate the individual and combined effects of an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) strain (Funneliformis mosseae) and a seaweed extract (SWE) derived from Ascophyllum nodosum, on the growth and physiological responses of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). Lettuce plants were inoculated with commercial AMF inoculum (5 g kg−1 soil), and SWE foliar application was done at three levels (0.5, 1.5, and 3 g L−1). The findings revealed that AMF along with SWE generated the greatest impact. In fact, co-application of AMF inoculation and 3 g L−1 SWE considerably enhanced root colonization, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, carotenoids, and mineral content in the shoots and roots (N, P, K, Ca, Fe, Zn, and Mn content) of lettuce plants. This combination improved initial fluorescence (F0), photochemical efficiency of PSII (FV/Fm) and Y(NO) and total antioxidant activity (TAA), whereas the maximum fluorescence, (Fm) and Y(II), showed the highest increase in lettuce plants treated with AMF and 1.5 g L−1 SWE. Furthermore, AMF inoculation along with SWE, at concentrations 1.5 and 3 g L−1, considerably enhanced variable fluorescence (FV) and the activity of water decomposition in electron donor photosystem II (FV/F0). As a result of these findings, it can be stated that the co-application of AMF and SWE positively improves the growth and development of lettuce plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biofortification of Field Crops)
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16 pages, 552 KiB  
Article
Iron Biofortification of Greenhouse Soilless Lettuce: An Effective Agronomic Tool to Improve the Dietary Mineral Intake
by Camila Vanessa Buturi, Leo Sabatino, Rosario Paolo Mauro, Eloy Navarro-León, Begoña Blasco, Cherubino Leonardi and Francesco Giuffrida
Agronomy 2022, 12(8), 1793; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agronomy12081793 - 29 Jul 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 1887
Abstract
The present experiment addressed the effects of different iron (Fe) concentrations in the nutrient solution supplied as Fe-HBED, i.e., 0.02 (Fe0, control), 1.02 (Fe1), and 2.02 mmol L−1 (Fe2) on lettuce (‘Nauplus’ and ‘Romana’) yield and compositional traits. This experiment was carried [...] Read more.
The present experiment addressed the effects of different iron (Fe) concentrations in the nutrient solution supplied as Fe-HBED, i.e., 0.02 (Fe0, control), 1.02 (Fe1), and 2.02 mmol L−1 (Fe2) on lettuce (‘Nauplus’ and ‘Romana’) yield and compositional traits. This experiment was carried out in a greenhouse using an open soilless cultivation system, at the experimental farm of the University of Catania (Sicily, Italy: 37°24′31.5″ N, 15°03′32.8″ E, 6 m a.s.l.). The addition of Fe-HBED reduced the plants’ aboveground biomass (−18%, averaged over Fe1 and Fe2), but promoted their dry matter content (+16% in Fe2). The concentration of chlorophylls, carotenoids, anthocyanins, and antioxidants peaked at Fe2, along with the antioxidant capacity and concentration of stress indicators in leaves. The Fe content in leaves was promoted in the Fe-treated plants (+187% averaged over Fe1 and Fe2). ‘Romana’ showed the highest Fe accumulation (reaching 29.8 mg kg−1 FW in Fe1), but ‘Nauplus’ proved a higher tolerance to the Fe-derived oxidative stress. The Fe2 treatment maximized leaf N, P, K, S, and Zn contents, while those of Ca, Mg, Mn, and B peaked at Fe1. Overall, our study revealed the effectiveness of Fe-HBED in increasing the Fe content and improving the nutritional quality of lettuce grown in soilless cultivation systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biofortification of Field Crops)
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12 pages, 1121 KiB  
Article
Exogenous Application of Zinc Sulphate at Heading Stage of Wheat Improves the Yield and Grain Zinc Biofortification
by Ahmad Sher, Bushra Sarwar, Abdul Sattar, Muhammad Ijaz, Sami Ul-Allah, Malik Tahir Hayat, Abdul Manaf, Abdul Qayyum, Ahmad Zaheer, Javed Iqbal, Ahmad El Askary, Amal F. Gharib, Khadiga Ahmed Ismail and Basem H. Elesawy
Agronomy 2022, 12(3), 734; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agronomy12030734 - 17 Mar 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3143
Abstract
Wheat is the leading staple food in the world, particularly in developing countries, which lacks a mechanism of zinc absorption; when compared to pulses, more attention is consequently important to be given to the wheat crop. Micronutrient deficiencies and especially zinc deficiency influences [...] Read more.
Wheat is the leading staple food in the world, particularly in developing countries, which lacks a mechanism of zinc absorption; when compared to pulses, more attention is consequently important to be given to the wheat crop. Micronutrient deficiencies and especially zinc deficiency influences one-third of the world population. In addition to this, it is also essential for the growth and development of plants and animals. A pot and field experiment was conducted to check the effect of foliar application of zinc sulphate on three different wheat varieties at the same time. Treatment consisted of three zinc levels (control, 4%, 6%) in the form of zinc sulphate (21% Zn) applications were applied on various wheat varieties (Zincol, Fakher-e-Bhakkar, Faisalabad-2008) at different growth stages (tillering, booting and heading). Different zinc levels showed different results on wheat varieties in both experiments. Results revealed that var. Fakher-e-Bhakkar was best at 6% zinc application for more plant height, the number of spikelets, spike length, 100-grain weight, biological and grain yield per plant as compared to other varieties and treatments. Antioxidants and nutritional quality (protein, gluten, starch and zinc contents) showed variable behavior both on wheat varieties and zinc application. It is concluded that Fakher-e-Bhakkar was found to be the most responsive cultivar at 6% zinc application for improvement in growth, yield-related traits and nutritional quality. So it is recommended for achieving maximum yield and yield components and grain zinc contents of wheat under agro-climatic conditions of Layyah, Punjab-Pakistan. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biofortification of Field Crops)
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