Zinc fertilization as an alternative to increase the concentration of micronutrients in edible parts of vegetables

Abstract

Because nutrients consumed by human beings are derived from the soil-plant system, biofortification of the edible parts of horticultural crops can be a very useful technique for countering human malnutrition. The objective of this study is to evaluate the transfer of Zn from the soil to the edible parts of carrots, kale and okra in latosol treated with increasing doses of Zn. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with a 4 x 3 x 4 factorial scheme, consisting of four Zn doses (0, 50, 150, and 300 mg kg-1 of soil), three plant species (carrot, kale and okra) and four parts of the plants (root, stem, leaf and edible parts), with four repetitions. It was found that with an increase in the content of Zn in the soil, the plant species, in general, presented a higher concentration of this element, showing that fertilization practices can increase the availability of Zn to plants. The kale plants exhibited a potential to concentrate Zn in their edible parts, as opposed tocarrot and okra plants. For this reason, these are suitable for use in Zn biofortification programs Zn.