BIOFORTIFICATION IN VEGETABLE CROPS - A REVIEW
Authors/Creators
- 1. P.hD Scholar, Dept of Vegetable Science, COA, Vellayani, Trivandrum-695522
- 2. Assistant Professor and Head, Dept of Vegetable Science, COA, Vellayani, Trivandrum-695522
Description
BIOFORTIFICATION IN VEGETABLE CROPS – A REVIEW
Merin, E. G.* and Sarada, S
College of Agriculture, Kerala Agricultural University, Trivandrum, Kerala
ABSTRACT
Increasing population, inadequate food and nutrition, hunger, malnourishment of vitamins and micronutrients etc. are the greatest challenges faced by most of the nations across the world. According to Global nutrition report 2017, India carries a serious burden of anemia, obesity and malnutrition. Iodine, vitamin A, iron, and zinc malnutrition are major concerns in world. Biofortification refers to the nutrient enrichment of crops to address the negative economic and health consequences of vitamin and mineral deficiencies in humans. Biofortified crops are of increased content of essential micronutrients (minerals and vitamins) and produced through agronomic practices, plant breeding and genetic engineering. Cumulatively, more than 150 biofortified varieties of 10 crops have been released in 30 countries. Agronomic biofortification is the application of micronutrient-containing mineral fertilizer to the soil and/or plant leaves, to increase micronutrient contents of the edible part of food crops. In plant breeding, parent lines with high vitamin or mineral levels can be crossed over several generations to produce plants that have the desired nutrients. Transgenic approaches have been used in vegetable crops to improve traits such as higher nutritional status, to reduce anti-nutritional factors etc. No single intervention will alleviate micronutrient deficiencies, and biofortification complements existing interventions, such as supplementation and industrial food fortification. In order to achieve the goals of biofortification there is need for promoting large-scale prospective studies on nutritional aspects and productivity along with consumer preference. The studies must also be in collaboration with plant breeders, molecular biologists and nutrition scientists.
KEY WORDS: Biofortification, Malnutrition, Plant breeding
* - corresponding author- merinelzageorge5010@gmail.com
