Bio-fortification of iron and zinc improves the biomass, uptake, distribution and yield of different maize varieties

Abstract Different approaches are underway to enrich the crops with nutrients to fulfill the nutrition requirement. This study was performed to investigate the impact of Zn and Fe bio-fortification on different maize varieties. Four maize varieties: V1 (Pak 2); V2 (Golden); V3 (Sultan); V4 (Pearl) and three treatments: T1 (control-untreated), T2 (Iron 7 mg/L as FeSO4.7H2O) and T3 (Zinc 10 mg/L as ZnSO4.5H2O) were used. The variety V2 performed better and produced highest biomass, leaf area, seed yield, total iron (TIC) and zinc concentration (TZC). In case of trace elements, maximum biomass, leaf area and seed yield was observed under T3. Moreover, highest TIC (62.90 mg kg−1) and TZC (65.80 mg kg−1) was measured with T2 and T3, respectively. The highest iron and zinc in stover (33.14 & 33.79 mg kg−1) and grain (29.75 & 32.00 mg kg−1) were determined with T2 and T3, respectively. In these experiments, V2 produced highest net income (NI) (615.02 US $ha−1) and among trace elements, T3 gave maximum NI (629.83 US $ha−1). Overall, maize varieties with T3 had 24% higher NI than T1. As growth, yield and NI were improved with V2 under T3, therefore this combination was most effective for maize production.

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