Decreasing mineral concentrations in wheat grain over the last 160 years
Wheat grain from the long-term Broadbalk wheat experiment at Rothamsted, England, was analysed for a range of trace and major nutrients. Concentrations of Zn, Fe, Cu, and Mg remained stable between 1845 and 1967, but decreased significantly after 1967, which coincided with the introduction of semi-dwarf, high- yielding varieties. The concentrations soil these elements in soil have either increased or remained stable during this time. Similar trends were also observed on different plots receiving no fertilisers, inorganic fertilisers or organic manure. Multiple regression analysis showed that both increasing yield and increasing harvest index were highly significant factors in explaining the decreasing trend of grain mineral concentrations. It appears that the introduction of semi-dwarf varieties may have unintentionally contributed to increased micronutrient malnutrition, and this highlights the need for crop breeding to improve grain mineral density.
micronutrients wheat nutrition
Steve P. McGrath Fang-Jie Zhao Ming-Sheng Fan
Agriculture and Environment Division, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, UK Agriculture and Environment Division, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, UK Coll
国际会议
第九届痕量元素生物地球化学国际会议(9th International Conference on the Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements)
北京
英文
281-282
2007-07-15（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）