Biofortificação de trigo e triticale com zinco e selênio como ferramenta de combate à fome oculta

Abstract

Hidden hunger affects approximately one-third of the world's population, leading to a deficiency of vitamins and minerals in food. This deficiency occurs partly due to the natural characteristics of soils, which often lack adequate levels of these essential elements for plants. The lack of knowledge dissemination to farmers, combined with intensive monocropping, are factors that reduce the diversity of nutrients available in the diet, resulting in nutritional deficiencies that can compromise public health. As a result, staple foods often lack essential nutrients and vitamins necessary for human well-being. The levels of zinc (Zn) and selenium (Se) in wheat and triticale grains are generally low, prompting the search for strategies to increase the concentration of these elements. Agronomic biofortification is one of the most widely used practices for this purpose. In this study, agronomic biofortification was applied via foliar application to increase Se and Zn levels in grains. To achieve this, two field experiments were conducted in three municipalities of Minas Gerais (Lavras, Lambari, and Itutinga). The first experiment aimed to evaluate the phenotypic effect of biofortification with Se and Zn and was set up in a randomized block design (RBD), with a factorial scheme 23 x 2, with four replications, with the first factor being wheat and triticale genotypes, and the second factor being the non-application (control) or application of the cocktail containing Zn + Se (1,39%ZnSO47.H2O + 0,0028% Na2SeO4), w/v, with a flow rate of 360 L ha-1. The second experiment aimed to evaluate the interaction effect with the combined biofortification of these elements. It was set up in RBD, with a factorial scheme 4 x 4, with four replications, with the first factor being the different wheat genotypes and the second factor being the forms of application of the elements, being a control without application, isolated application of Se (0,002% Na2SeO4), isolated application of Zn (1% ZnSO47.H2O) or Zn + Se cocktail (1% ZnSO47.H2O + 0,002% Na2SeO4), w/v, with a flow rate of 500 L ha-1. In the experiment with wheat and triticale genotypes, the application of the Se + Zn cocktail resulted in an increase in the concentration of these elements in grains in all three areas, as well as increased productivity in the Lambari area. In the interaction experiment, the joint application of Se and Zn in wheat genotypes was synergistic, promoting an increase in Se levels in grains in some areas. In the case of Zn, there was no significant increase, whether applied alone or in combination with Se.