MICRONUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES IN PLANTS:

1
MICRONUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES IN PLANTS THEIR
OCCURRENCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST, EFFECTS ON
HUMANS AND ANIMALS AND REMEDY STRATEGIES
Mohamed M. El-Fouly
Fertilization Technology Department (Project
Micronutrients and Plant Nutrition
Problems) National Research Centre Cairo Dokki
Egypt e-mail nrc-mic_at_link.net
mohelfouly_at_link.net
2
Contents

• Introduction
• Deficiencies in soils
• Deficiencies in plants
• Correction approaches
• Soil treatment
• Foliar application
• Seed treatment
• Plant breading
• Conclusions

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Introduction
4
Ten leading causes of illness and disease in
low-income countries (WHO, 2002)
Risk factor Risk factor
Underweight Unsafe sex Unsafe water Indoor smoke Zinc deficiency 14.9 10.2 5.5 3.7 3.2 Iron deficiency Vitamin A deficiency Blood pressure Tobacco Cholesterol 3.1 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.9
IFA-Aug. 2007
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Deficiencies in humans in the Region
Nutrient Symptoms
Fe Anemia is well known in all countries
Zn School and preschool children have low intake Growth retardation In Jordan average intake 90 with lowest 71 of needs Morocco 29 of population has Zn deficiency In Egypt lot of indications of Zn deficiency occurrence in children and adolescents Global estimations of figure the possible deficiency in the region reach 74 of the population
Others No much documented data
6

• Micronutrients of high importance
• for Agriculture
• in the MENA Region
• Fe
• Mn
• Cu
• Zn
• B
• Se ?
• Why ?

7
Major Reasons

• Low natural content in the soil
• High pH values of the soil (low availability)
• High salt content (low availability)
• High CaCO3 content
• Agronomic practices counteracting the continuous
  supply of nutrients/availability e.g. (irrigation
  / methods of fertilizers application)
• Crop intensification (high demand in short
  periods)
• Interaction between nutrients

8
Major works on micronutrients in the region
Sillanpaa (Finnland) (Regional) 1970s
National Research Centre, Cairo Micronutrient project (Egypt Arab Countries) El-Fouly et al. 1976
Turkey Cakmak et al. 1993
Iran Malakouti et al. 1990s
Pakistan 1990s
India 1990s
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Deficiencies in Soils
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Micronutrient content and its evaluation in soils
of some selected areas in Egypt
Area Fe Mn Zn Cu
Area deficient Deficient deficient deficient
Field Crops Alluvial (0-30) Dakahlia 5000 samples Behira 308 samples Calcareous Nubaseed 582 samples Fruits trees Alluvial Kaliobia (0-60) 462 samples Sandy Gianacleese 0 5 98 40 93 0 6 98 5 98 44 18 65 56 19 10 0 92 3 36
Deficient of total samples contain
deficient amounts Source El-Fouly
(1986)
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• Studies in
• Egypt Syria Jordan - Turkey
• India Pakistan Yemen Oman Morocco
  Tunisia - Sudan
• Showed
• Deficiencies in Soils in
• Zn
• Fe
• Cu
• Mn

12
Zn concentration in Surface and Sub-Surface Soil
layers in some locations at Ismailia
District (Ismailia Governorate)
13
Mn concentration in Surface and Sub-Surface Soil
layers in some locations at Ismailia
District (Ismailia Governorate)
14
Zinc deficiencies in calcareous soils on a
district level
District No. of Samples soil samples deficient
E. Champaran Muzaffarpur Samastipur Begusarai Vaishali Saran Gopalganj Siwan Overall 429 1309 1195 715 331 1094 599 1015 6687 60 75 57 54 48 77 78 79 68
Singh and Singh (2007)
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Deficiencies in Plants
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Deficiency status in some selected crops in Egypt
according to leaf analysis criteria of total
analyzed samples contain less than adequate
Area Fe Mn Zn Cu
Area Wheat Wheat Wheat Wheat
Menoufia (121 samples) Behira (138 samples) 29 1 70 61 75 22 - 1
Corn Corn Corn Corn
Menoufia (180 samples) Behira (170 samples) 10 - 27 1 32 23 - 13
Fababeans Fababeans Fababeans Fababeans
Menoufia (45 samples) Behira (158 samples) 35 - 80 62 85 30 - 9
17
Deficiency status in some selected crops in Egypt
according to leaf analysis criteria of total
analyzed samples contain less than adequate
(Continue)
Area Fe Mn Zn Cu
Area Soybean Soybean Soybean Soybean
Menoufia (100 samples) Behira (35 samples) 25 - 25 - 25 - - 37
Clover Clover Clover Clover
Menoufia (230 samples) Behira (152 samples) 26 7 100 30 90 33 - 3
El-Fouly (1980)
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Estimated micronutrient deficiencies in major
crops in Egypt ( of total area) hidden
temporarily deficiencies
Crop Fe Mn Zn Cu
Wheat 60 70 80 5
Maize 60 30 80 5
Sorghum 10 30 80 5
Cotton 70 70 85 5
Sugar cane 25 80 80 5
Rice 30 60 90 5
Vegetables 50 100 100 5
Orchards 100 100 100 15
Legumes 100 100 100 15
NRC-GTZ Project
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Crop species considered particularly susceptible
to micro-nutrient deficiencies
Manganese Boron Copper Zinc Fe Molybdenum
Sugar beet Sugar beet Wheat Maize Peanuts Cauliflower
Peas Cotton Barley Field beans Clover Broccoli
Cotton Oilseed rape Onions Wheat Soybean Alfalfa
Dwarf beans Sunflower Carrots Rice Peas
Oats Cauliflower/ cabbage Red beet Peanuts
Barley Alfalfa Lettuce Sorghum
Wheat Celery Spinach
Potato
Lettuce
20
Estimated crop requirements for Zinc, Manganese,
iron and Copper in Egypt
Crop Percentage of surveyed crop area requiring micronutrients () Percentage of surveyed crop area requiring micronutrients () Percentage of surveyed crop area requiring micronutrients () Percentage of surveyed crop area requiring micronutrients ()
Crop Zn Mn Fe Cu
Wheat Maize Sorghum Cotton Sugar-cane Rice Vegetables Orchards Legumes 80 80 80 85 80 90 100 100 100 70 30 30 70 80 60 100 100 100 60 60 10 70 25 30 50 100 100 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 15 15
Sources El-Fouly and Fawzi (1995)
21
Other Countries in the region have also
micronutrient deficiencies in major field crops
as well as fruits / vegetables especially under
irrigation systems
22
Grazing Animals Low Micronutrient Contents In
Plants Low Intake Diseases
23
Correction Approaches
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• APPROACHES TO CORRECT DEFICIENCY
• Treat the seed
• Soaking
• Mixing
• Treat the soil
• Fertilizers containing micronutrients
• Treat the plant
• Fertilizers containing micronutrients
• Spraying foliar fertilizers
• Breeding high efficiency cultivars
• Treat the animal
• Metered water
• Feeding blocks and licks
• Supplementation through the feed
• Injecting
• Producing fodder with high content
• Treat humans
• Food fortification

25
Soil treatment
26

• Single compound
• Multinutrient compound
• Added to macronutrients
• Non-chelated
• Chelated
• Mixed
• Formulated

27
Effect of Zn soil application on yield, Zn
concentration and Zn uptake (Peanut)
Gregory NC 10 Giza 5 Giza 6
Seed yield -Zn Zn 109 109 156 158 74 100 56 59
Zn concentration in seeds ?g/g dry wt. -Zn Zn 86 93 73 85 71 72 77 83
Zn uptake mg/plant -Zn Zn 17 25 21 37 14 18 8 16
Semida - Unpublished
28

• Soil Treatments
• Added to NPKs
• or
• Only Micronutrients
• (Chelated/Salts)
• Availability for long time is not guaranteed (pH
  stability agronomic practices / Variation of
  needs/time) used only particular situations

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Seed Treatment
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Effects of seed Zn content on grain yield of
bread wheat cultivar Atag grown under rainfed and
irrigated conditions in a Zn-deficient calcareous
soil with (Zn 23 kg Zn/ha) and without Zn
(-Zn) fertilisation in Central Anatolia (Yilmaz
et al., 1998).
Seed Zn content Rainfed Rainfed Irrigared Irrigared
Seed Zn content -Zn Zn -Zn Zn
ng Zn/seed Kg grain/ha Kg grain/ha Kg grain/ha Kg grain/ha
355 480 2720 5700 7170
800 920 3170 5930 7800
1465 1040 2840 6190 7450
Mean 810 2810 5940 7470
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Effect of Zn content in seeds prior to seeding
and yield under no additional Zn (Peanut)
Seed Zn ug/seed ?g/g seed-1 Yield g/plant
Gregory 47 47 109
Giza 5 32 43 74
Giza 6 17 20 55
NC 10 35 35 156
El-Fouly et al. unpublished
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Effect of application methods of some
micronutrients on some chemical contents in the
bulb at harvest. (Averages of two seasons)
Characters Control Mn Mn Mn Cu Cu Cu Cu
Characters Control Seed soaking Root dipping Foliar spray Seed soaking Root dipping Foliar spray L.S.D. at 5
T.S.S. 11.6 13.0 12.5 13.3 12.8 12.0 13.5 0.6
Total Nitrogen 1.21 2.4 3.5 2.9 2.2 2.1 1.9 0.38
Phosphorus 0.3 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.5 N.S
Manganese mg/kg 13 24 26 37 20 22 20 2.4
Copper mg/kg 0.8 0.8 1.0 0.7 1.3 4.3 1.8 0.4
Hindi et al. (1983)
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Foliar Treatment
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Changes in micronutrients concentration in potato
tubers of three potato cultivars as affected by
micronutrients foliar spray
Treatments (g/fed.) Zn (ppm) Zn (ppm) Zn (ppm) Mean
Treatments (g/fed.) S M D Mean
1995/1996 1995/1996 1995/1996 1995/1996 1995/1996
Control 13.17 11.17 11.12 11.82
400 14.40 13.93 14.20 14.18
800 17.83 15.33 14.00 15.72
1200 17.97 15.50 16.50 16.66
1996/1997 1996/1997 1996/1997 1996/1997 1996/1997
Control 13.30 13.70 14.80 13.93
400 16.07 16.13 17.00 16.40
800 18.20 16.13 17.43 17.25
1200 23.10 16.20 17.80 19.03
S Spunta M Monaliza D Diamont
Source Nofal et al., 1998
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Effect of foliar application with micronutrient
compounds on micronutrients concentration of
potato tubers (ppm) during two seasons
Treatment Fe (ppm) Fe (ppm) Mn (ppm) Mn (ppm) Zn (ppm) Zn (ppm)
Treatment 2001/2002 2002/2003 2001/2002 2002/2003 2001/2002 2002/2003
Control 20.93 32.10 5.40 7.20 12.83 12.00
400g/fed/ 29.60 33.50 8.10 8.10 13.36 13.37
800g/fed. 41.97 51.53 9.30 9.60 21.63 15.80
1200g/fed. 37.63 36.50 8.70 8.40 12.83 13.43
L.S.D. at 0.5 15.20 13.02 1.44 0.58 2.23 3.62
Source Khalifa et al., (2003)
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Effect of spraying Mn, Zn, Fe combination on
potato cultivars grown on clay soils (Experiment
II).
Treatment Tuber yield t/ha Nutrient concentration in leaves Nutrient concentration in leaves Nutrient concentration in leaves Nutrient concentration in leaves
Treatment Tuber yield t/ha ppm ppm ppm ppm
Treatment Tuber yield t/ha Fe Mn Zn Cu
Treatment Tuber yield t/ha Aran Banner Aran Banner Aran Banner Aran Banner
1. Control 16.3b 167b 46b 23b 18a
2. Mn Zn Fe 19.6a 284a 67a 39a 20a
Alpha Alpha Alpha Alpha
1. Control 22.5b 118b 52b 22b 16a
2. Mn Zn Fe 26.0a 177a 61a 34a 15a
Values with the same letter are not significantly
different Fawzi et al. (1983)
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Micronutrients content of soybean seeds as
affected by micronutrient fertilizers (Average of
two seasons)
Treatment Micronutrients conc. (ppm) Micronutrients conc. (ppm) Micronutrients conc. (ppm) Micronutrients content ug/plant) Micronutrients content ug/plant) Micronutrients content ug/plant)
Treatment Fe Mn Zn Fe Mn Zn
1. Control 141a 41a 50a 1650a 480a 585a
2. Nervanid Mn (14) 146a 59c 55ab 2175b 879d 820c
3. Nervanid Zn (13) 158ab 43a 51c 2386c 649b 921d
3. Pholaz A 176c 54b 59b 2605d 799c 873cd
4. Pholaz Mn (15) 144a 58c 53a 2246b 908d 827c
5. Ferriblix (Fe 6 ) 165b 50b 52a 2294b 695b 723b
Firgany et al. (1988)
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A
1956
1976
BC
B
CD
D
C
D
E
E
F
F
F
F
FG
FG
Yield (ton/ha)
G
G
G
The effect of foliar application of Zn and Fe on
the yield of two onion cultivars Bybordi and
Malakoti (2007b)
FAO Expert Meeting

Cairo 12/07
39
A
1976
1956
AB
A
B
B
BC
BC
C
C
CD
CD
CD
E
D
NO3 (mg/kg)
E
F
EF
The effect of foliar application of Zn and Fe on
NO3 concentrations in bulbs of two onion
cultivars Bybordi and Malakoti (2007 b)
FAO Expert Meeting

Cairo 12/07
40
1956
1976
Zinc conc.-ppm Zn in DM
Cut number
Micronutrient levels in ryegrass at different
harvest cuts following foliar application of zinc
at 1L/ha Moran (2004)
FAO Expert Meeting

Cairo 12/07
41
The effects of microplex on mineral contents of
spinach
Soil Sample Application Method Kg/ha Fe Mg kg-1 Mn Mg kg-1 Zn Mg kg-1 Cu Mg kg-1
1 Soil 0 198.9 72.8 164.2 13.9
1 Soil 0.5 205.3 81.6 175.9 16.1
1 Soil 1.0 224.1 88.2 186.2 19.0
1 Soil 2.0 224.1 99.5 201.5 18.8
1 Foliage 0 201.2 70.6 168.1 13.3
1 Foliage 0.5 262.8 105.7 219.8 20.7
1 Foliage 1.0 268.1 109 230.6 24.4
1 Foliage 2.0 329.9 134.7 261.8 25.6
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Cereal grain Zn concentration as affected by Zn
fertilization of deficient soils some examples
Species Zn concentration (mg kg-1) Zn concentration (mg kg-1) Reference
Species Control Zn Reference
Wheat Wheat Rice Corn Sorghum 14 15 18 12 6 71 33 44 45 28 Rashid and Fox (1992) Rashid et al. (2006) Rashid and Fox (1992) Rashid and Fox (1992) Rashid and Fox (1992)
Abdul Rashid (2007)
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Average yield increases (1985-1995) due to use of
micronutrients and balanced fertilization
obtained by farmers participating in the
Revolving Fund (RF) activities
Crop Increase () Crop Increase () Crop Increase ()
Citrus 30 Cotton 20 Lentils 25
Mango 30 Wheat 18 Potato 20
Peaches 20 Rice 14 Tomato 15
Pears 20 Maize 24 Pepper 20
Apples 20 Soybean 24 Cucumber 20
Grapes 25 Peanuts 28 Protected Vegetables 20
Source El-Fouly, et al. 1995
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WHO Strategy 2010 2019 Promote the
production and consumption of micronutrient rich
foods as the ONLY truly sustainable solution to
micronutrient deficiencies problems
45

• Biofortification Strategies for Micronutrients
• Increase uptake
• Increase translocation
• Increase storage capacity

46

• Testing Genotypes for Fe and Zn Contents
• Phaseolus Beans (CIAT)
• Rice (IRRI)
• Wheat (CIMMYT)
• Cassava (CIAT)

47
Harvest Plus
Bean Iron Zn Rwanda Congo 2012
Millet Iron Zn India 2012
Rice Zn Iron Bangladesh, India 2013
Wheat Zn Iron India, Pakistan 2013
Miller, D. and Welch, R.M.
48
Average, minimum and Statistics of 90 germplasms
evaluated at six locations in Zimbabwe for grain
iron and zinc concentration during 1997-98
Site Iron (mg/kg) Iron (mg/kg) Iron (mg/kg) Iron (mg/kg) Zinc (mg/kg) Zinc (mg/kg) Zinc (mg/kg) Zinc (mg/kg)
Site Mean grain yield (ton/ha) Mean Min Max Mean Min Max ?
Harare, N applied 8.02 18.5 14.4 26.0 21.9 16.7 31.5 lt.001
Harare, N stress 3.20 13.2 11.1 19.8 23.7 18.4 31.2 lt.001
Matopos 1.40 17.5 13.8 20.7 24.0 18.8 29.1 lt.001
Rattray 7.12 18.1 14.6 22.8 19.7 15.3 25.8 lt.001
Kadoma 9.62 17.6 14.3 25.3 19.4 15.0 23.3 lt.001
Glandala 7.65 18.1 13.2 25.7 23.8 17.8 30.8 lt.001
Across sites 6.17 17.2 14.4 21.8 22.0 18.5 28.5 lt.001
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Iron and Zinc content of some selected varieties
of brown rice
Variety Iron Iron Iron Iron
Variety Mean SE mg/kg No. of samples Mean SE mg/kg No. of samples
Jalmagna 22.4 1.4 5 31.8 7.7 4
Zuchem 20.2 1.8 4 34.2 5.0 3
Xua Bue Nuo 18.8 0.8 2 24.3 0.7 2
Madhuker 14.4 0.5 3 34.7 2.8 3
IR64 11.8 0.5 3 23.2 1.4 3
IR36 11.8 0.9 5 20.9 1.4 4
Gregorio et al. (2000)
50
Micronutrient Fertilization Yield increases
Improving human and animal helath
Germination improvement of resulted seeds
Increase the micronutrients content in product
Raising stress resistance
Improving seedling growth
Raising the resistance to pests
51
Conclusions

• Micronutrient remedy measures should be addressed
  within a holistic approach taking major essential
  elements into consideration (interaction between
  nutrients)
• Agricultural practices deliver quick solution for
  the low micronutrient content in food and feed
  and lead to economic vi yield increases with high
  micronutrient contents
• Recommended agricultural practices remedy differ
  according to soil type, crop and prevailing
  agricultural practice
• Breeding/genetic engineering programs can deliver
  a long run solution, provided they take other
  essential elements and balanced nutrition of
  crops into consideration while testing genotypes

52
Acknowledgement

• Thanks are due to the Academy of Scientific
  Research and Technology, Egypt and the German
  Ministry for Economic Cooperation for their
  support during the early stages of the
  micronutrient program in the NRC.

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