Ismailia 1/2015

1976 1956

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 CentreCairo – Dokki – Egypt

e-mail: nrc-mic@link.net mohelfouly@link.net

Ismailia 1/2015

1976 1956Contents

Introduction

Deficiencies in soils

Deficiencies in plants

Correction approaches

Soil treatment

Foliar application

Seed treatment

Plant breading

Conclusions

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1976 1956

Introduction

Ismailia 1/2015

1976 1956Ten 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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1976 1956

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

Deficiencies in humans in the Region

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1976 1956

Micronutrients of high importance

for Agriculture

in the MENA Region

Fe

Mn

Cu

Zn

B

Se ?

Why ?

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1976 1956

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

Major Reasons

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1976 1956

Major works on micronutrients in the region

Sillanpaa (Finnland)

(Regional) 1970’s

National Research Centre, Cairo

Micronutrient project

(Egypt & Arab Countries)

El-Fouly et al.

1976

Turkey – Cakmak et al. 1993

Iran – Malakouti et al. 1990’s

Pakistan 1990’s

India 1990’s

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1976 1956

Deficiencies in Soils

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1976 1956

Micronutrient content and its evaluation in soils of some selected areas in Egypt

AreaFe Mn Zn Cu

% deficient % Deficient % deficient % deficient

Field Crops :Alluvial (0-30)Dakahlia5000 samplesBehira308 samplesCalcareousNubaseed582 samplesFruits treesAlluvialKaliobia (0-60)462 samples SandyGianacleese

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)

Ismailia 1/2015

1976 1956Studies in

Egypt – Syria – Jordan –- Turkey

India – Pakistan – Yemen – Oman – Morocco – Tunisia - Sudan

Showed

Deficiencies in Soils inZn

Fe

Cu

Mn

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1976 1956

Zn concentration in Surface and Sub-Surface Soil layers in some locations at Ismailia District

(Ismailia Governorate)

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1976 1956

Mn concentration in Surface and Sub-Surface Soil layers in some locations at Ismailia District

(Ismailia Governorate)

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1976 1956

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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1976 1956

Deficiencies in Plants

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1976 1956

Deficiency status in some selected crops in Egypt according to leaf analysis criteria % of total

analyzed samples contain less than adequate

AreaFe Mn Zn Cu

Wheat

Menoufia(121 samples)Behira(138 samples)

29

1

70

61

75

22

-

1

Corn

Menoufia(180 samples)Behira(170 samples)

10

-

27

1

32

23

-

13

Fababeans

Menoufia(45 samples)Behira(158 samples)

35

-

80

62

85

30

-

9

Ismailia 1/2015

1976 1956

Deficiency status in some selected crops in Egypt

according to leaf analysis criteria % of total analyzed

samples contain less than adequate

(Continue)

AreaFe Mn Zn Cu

Soybean

Menoufia(100 samples)Behira(35 samples)

25

-

25

-

25

-

-

37

Clover

Menoufia(230 samples)Behira(152 samples)

26

7

100

30

90

33

-

3

El-Fouly (1980)

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1976 1956

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

Estimated micronutrient deficiencies in major crops in Egypt (% of total area)

hidden + temporarily deficiencies

NRC-GTZ Project

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1976 1956

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 BarleyField

beans Clover Broccoli

Cotton Oilseed rape Onions Wheat Soybean Alfalfa

Dwarf beans Sunflower Carrots Rice Peas

OatsCauliflower/

cabbageRed beet Peanuts

Barley Alfalfa Lettuce Sorghum

Wheat Celery Spinach

Potato

Lettuce

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1976 1956

Estimated crop requirements for Zinc,

Manganese, iron and Copper in Egypt

Crop

Percentage of surveyed crop area requiring micronutrients (%)

Zn Mn Fe Cu

WheatMaize

Sorghum Cotton

Sugar-caneRice

VegetablesOrchardsLegumes

808080858090

100100100

703030708060

100100100

60601070253050

100100

5555555

1515

Sources : El-Fouly and Fawzi (1995)

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1976 1956

Other Countries in the region

have also micronutrient

deficiencies in major field crops

as well as fruits / vegetables

especially under irrigation

systems

Ismailia 1/2015

1976 1956GrazingAnimals

Low Micronutrient Contents

In Plants

Low Intake

Diseases

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1976 1956

Correction Approaches

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1976 1956

APPROACHES TO CORRECT DEFICIENCY :

Treat the seed :SoakingMixing

Treat the soil:Fertilizers containing micronutrients

Treat the plant :Fertilizers containing micronutrientsSpraying foliar fertilizersBreeding high efficiency cultivars

Treat the animal :

Metered waterFeeding blocks and licks Supplementation through the feedInjectingProducing fodder with high content

Treat humans :Food fortificationSupplementation capsulesIncreasing natural content of food produced

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1976 1956

Soil treatment

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1976 1956

Single compound

Multinutrient compound

Added to macronutrients

Non-chelated

Chelated

Mixed

Formulated

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1976 1956

Effect of Zn soil application on yield, Zn concentration and Zn uptake (Peanut)

Gregory NC 10 Giza 5 Giza 6Seed yield-Zn+Zn

109109

156158

74100

5659

Zn concentration in seeds g/g dry wt.-Zn+Zn

8693

7385

7172

7783

Zn uptake mg/plant-Zn+Zn

1725

2137

1418

816

Semida - Unpublished

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1976 1956

Soil Treatments

Added to NPK’s

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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1976 1956

Seed Treatment

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1976 1956

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 contentRainfed Irrigared

-Zn +Zn -Zn +Zn

ng Zn/seed Kg grain/ha

355 480 2720 5700 7170

800 920 3170 5930 7800

1465 1040 2840 6190 7450

Mean 810 2810 5940 7470

Ismailia 1/2015

1976 1956Effect 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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1976 1956

Effect of application methods of some micronutrients on some chemical contents in the bulb at harvest.

(Averages of two seasons)

Characters Control

Mn Cu

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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1976 1956

Foliar Treatment

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1976 1956

Changes in micronutrients concentration in potato tubers of three potato cultivars as

affected by micronutrients foliar spray

S = Spunta M = Monaliza D = Diamont Source : Nofal et al., 1998

Treatments (g/fed.)

Zn (ppm)Mean S M D

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

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

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1976 1956

Effect of foliar application with micronutrient compounds on micronutrients concentration of potato tubers (ppm) during two seasons

Source : Khalifa et al., (2003)

Treatment Fe (ppm) Mn (ppm) Zn (ppm)

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

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1976 1956

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

ppm

Fe Mn Zn Cu

Aran Banner

1. Control 16.3b 167b 46b 23b 18a

2. Mn + Zn + Fe 19.6a 284a 67a 39a 20a

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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1976 1956

Micronutrients content of soybean seeds as affected by micronutrient fertilizers (Average of two seasons)

Treatment

Micronutrients conc. (ppm)

Micronutrients content ug/plant)

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 799c873cd

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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1976 195619561976

The effect of foliar application of Zn and Fe on the yield of two onion cultivars

Bybordi and Malakoti (2007b)

52

54

56

58

60

62

64

Fe0Zn0 Fe0Zn1 Fe0Zn2 Fe0Zn0 Fe0Zn1 Fe0Zn2 Fe0Zn0 Fe0Zn1 Fe0Zn2

Red onion White onion

Yie

ld (

ton

/ha)

FAO Expert Meeting Cairo 12/07

FG

G

F

G

E

FGF

G

E

F

CD

DD

F

BC

C

A

B

Ismailia 1/2015

1976 19561976

FAO Expert Meeting Cairo 12/07

1956

The effect of foliar application of Zn and Fe on NO3 concentrations in bulbs of

two onion cultivars

Bybordi and Malakoti (2007 b)

0

50

100

150

200

250

Fe0Zn0 Fe0Zn1 Fe0Zn2 Fe0Zn0 Fe0Zn1 Fe0Zn2 Fe0Zn0 Fe0Zn1 Fe0Zn2

Red onion White onion

NO

3 (m

g/k

g)

A

AB AB

BBC

BCC C

CD CD CDE

DE

F

EF

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1976 195619561976

Micronutrient levels in ryegrass at different harvest cuts following

foliar application of zinc at 1L/ha

Moran (2004)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

Untreated Treated

Zin

c co

nc.

-pp

m Z

n i

n D

M

Cut number

FAO Expert Meeting Cairo 12/07

Ismailia 1/2015

1976 1956

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

0.5 205.3 81.6 175.9 16.1

1.0 224.1 88.2 186.2 19.0

2.0 224.1 99.5 201.5 18.8

Foliage

0 201.2 70.6 168.1 13.3

0.5 262.8 105.7 219.8 20.7

1.0 268.1 109 230.6 24.4

2.0 329.9 134.7 261.8 25.6

The effects of microplex on mineral contents of spinach

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1976 1956

Cereal grain Zn concentration as

affected by Zn fertilization of deficient

soils : some examples

Species Zn concentration (mg kg-1)

Reference Control +Zn

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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1976 1956

Average yield increases (1985-1995) due to use of micronutrients and balanced

fertilization obtained by farmers participating in the Revolving Fund (RF) activities

CropIncrease

(%)Crop

Increase (%)

CropIncrease

(%)

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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1976 1956WHO Strategy

2010 – 2019

“Promote the production and consumption of micronutrient rich

foods as the ONLY truly

sustainable solution to micronutrient deficiencies

problems”

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1976 1956

Biofortification Strategies for Micronutrients

1)Increase uptake

2)Increase translocation

3)Increase storage capacity

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1976 1956

Testing Genotypes for Fe and Zn Contents

Phaseolus Beans (CIAT)

Rice (IRRI)

Wheat (CIMMYT)

Cassava (CIAT)

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1976 1956

Harvest Plus Bean Iron Zn

Rwanda Congo

2012

Millet Iron Zn India 2012

Rice Zn IronBangladesh,

India 2013

Wheat Zn Iron India,

Pakistan2013

Miller, D. and Welch, R.M.

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1976 1956

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) Zinc (mg/kg)

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 <.001

Harare, N stress 3.20 13.2 11.1 19.8 23.7 18.4 31.2 <.001

Matopos 1.40 17.5 13.8 20.7 24.0 18.8 29.1 <.001

Rattray 7.12 18.1 14.6 22.8 19.7 15.3 25.8 <.001

Kadoma 9.62 17.6 14.3 25.3 19.4 15.0 23.3 <.001

Glandala 7.65 18.1 13.2 25.7 23.8 17.8 30.8 <.001

Across sites 6.17 17.2 14.4 21.8 22.0 18.5 28.5 <.001

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1976 1956

Iron and Zinc content of some selected

varieties of brown rice

Variety Iron

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)

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1976 1956

Increase the micronutrients content

in product

Improving human and

animal helath

Germination improvement of resulted seeds

Improving seedling growth

Raising stress resistance

Raising the resistance to pests

Micronutrient Fertilization

Yield increases

+

Ismailia 1/2015

1976 1956Conclusions

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

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1976 1956

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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1976 1956

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