PL EN
PRACA ORYGINALNA
Agronomic biofortification of potato through Zn foliar and soil fertilization
 
Więcej
Ukryj
1
Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Facultad de Agronomía, Departamento Académico de Suelos, Av. La Molina s/n La Molina, Box 12-056, Lima, Peru
 
2
Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Facultad de Agronomía, Departamento Académico de Fitotecnia, Av. La Molina s/n La Molina, Box 12-056, Lima, Peru
 
 
Data nadesłania: 11-10-2025
 
 
Data ostatniej rewizji: 27-01-2026
 
 
Data akceptacji: 11-05-2026
 
 
Data publikacji online: 11-05-2026
 
 
Data publikacji: 11-05-2026
 
 
Autor do korespondencji
Pedro Pablo Gutierrez-Vilchez   

Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento Académico de Suelos, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Lima, Peru
 
 
Soil Sci. Ann., 2026, 77(2)221698
 
SŁOWA KLUCZOWE
STRESZCZENIE
Zinc is an essential micronutrient in human health; however, its deficiency is considered a limiting factor for growth and development in children, especially in developing countries. Therefore, agronomic biofortification, the practice of applying fertilizers to crops to increase micronutrient concentrations in the harvested product, seeks to reduce the low intake of zinc in diets. Experimental plots in La Molina and Cañete, Peru were used to test agronomic biofortification in potato through soil and foliar fertilization. Three experiments were conducted, comprising 6 potato fields cultivated under furrow irrigation in the coastal region, characterized by an arid climate, low rainfall, and sparse natural vegetation. Experiment 1 included 3 fields with a complete block design and a factorial arrangement of 3 soil-applied Zn doses (0, 20, and 40 kg ha⁻¹) and 2 foliar Zn doses (0 and 5 kg ha⁻¹). Experiment 2 involved two fields with a complete block design, where foliar fertilization was applied at i) 0, 4, 8, and 16 kg ha⁻¹ and ii) 5 and 10 kg ha⁻¹, fractionated into 4 and 8 applications. Experiment 3 was carried out using a complete block design with soil-applied Zn doses of 0, 10, 20, and 40 kg ha⁻¹. Zinc concentrations were increased in potato tuber flesh and skin employing fertilization methods. A more significant response to foliar fertilization than to soil fertilization was observed, soil being a limiting factor in fertilization efficiency. In general, foliar applications can increase Zn levels in pulp by 40%. Potato yield was not affected by soil applications, but foliar fertilization can affect yield.
REFERENCJE (52)
1.
Amoros, W., Salas, E., Hualla, V., Burgos, G., De Boeck, B., Eyzaguirre, R., zum Felde, T., Bonierbale, M., 2020. Heritability and genetic gains for iron and zinc concentration in diploid potato. Crop Science 60, 1884–1896. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.2....
 
2.
Bouis, H., 2018. Reducing mineral and vitamin deficiencies through biofortification: progress under HarvestPlus. In: Biesalski, H., Birner, R. (Eds.), Hidden hunger: strategies to improve nutrition quality. Vol. 118, 112–122. https://doi.org/10.1159/000484....
 
3.
Bouis, H.E., Hotz, C., McClafferty, B., Meenakshi, J.V., Pfeiffer, W.H., 2011. Biofortification: a new tool to reduce micronutrient malnutrition. Food and Nutrition Bulletin 32(1), 31–40.
 
4.
Bouis, H.E., Saltzman, A., 2017. Improving nutrition through biofortification: a review of evidence from HarvestPlus, 2003 through 2016. Global Food Security 12, 49–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.....
 
5.
Burgos, G., Amoros, W., Morote, M., Stangoulis, J., Bonierbale, M., 2007. Iron and zinc concentration of native Andean potato cultivars from a human nutrition perspective. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 87(4), 668–675. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.2....
 
6.
Cakmak, I., Kutman, U.B., 2018. Agronomic biofortification of cereals with zinc: a review. European Journal of Soil Science 69(1), 172–180. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.1....
 
7.
Chaney, R.L., 1993. Zinc phytotoxicity. In: Robson, A. (Ed.), Zinc in soils and plants, 135–150.
 
8.
Chattha, M.U., Hassan, M.U., Khan, I., Chattha, M.B., Mahmood, A., Nawaz, M., Subhani, M.N., Kharal, M., Khan, S., 2017. Biofortification of wheat cultivars to combat zinc deficiency. Frontiers in Plant Science 8, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2....
 
9.
Das, S., Green, A., 2016. Zinc in crops and human health. In: Singh, U., Praharaj, C.S., Singh, S.S., Singh, N.P. (Eds.), Biofortification of food crops, 1–490. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81....
 
10.
Dhaliwal, S.S., Sharma, V., Shukla, A.K., Verma, V., Kaur, M., Shivay, Y.S., Nisar, S., Gaber, A., Brestic, M., Barek, V., Skalicky, M., Ondrisik, P., Hossain, A., 2022. Biofortification—a frontier novel approach to enrich micronutrients in field crops to encounter nutritional security. Molecules 27(4), 1340. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecu....
 
11.
Egúsquiza, R., 2014. La papa en el Perú. Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina (UNALM), Lima, Perú.
 
12.
Fageria, N.K., Barbosa Filho, M.P., Moreira, A., Guimarães, C.M., 2009. Foliar fertilization of crop plants. Journal of Plant Nutrition 32(6), 1044–1064. https://doi.org/10.1080/019041....
 
13.
Fernández, V., Gil-Pelegrín, E., Eichert, T., 2021. Foliar water and solute absorption: an update. The Plant Journal 105(4), 870–883. https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.15....
 
14.
Freire, B.M., Pereira, R.M., Lange, C.N., Batista, B.L., 2020. Biofortification of crop plants: a practical solution to tackle elemental deficiency. In: Mishra, K., Tandon, P.K., Srivastava, S. (Eds.), Sustainable solutions for elemental deficiency and excess in crop plants, 135–182. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-98....
 
15.
Gaj, R., Górski, D., Majchrzak, L., 2020. The effect of potassium and micronutrient foliar fertilisation on the content and accumulation of microelements, yield and quality parameters of potato tubers. Agriculture 10(11), 530. https://doi.org/10.3390/agricu....
 
16.
Garg, M., Sharma, N., Sharma, S., Kapoor, P., Kumar, A., Chunduri, V., Arora, P., 2018. Biofortified crops generated by breeding, agronomy, and transgenic approaches are improving lives of millions of people around the world. Frontiers in Nutrition 5, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2....
 
17.
Gutiérrez-Rosales, R.O., Espinoza-Trelles, J.A., Bonierbale, M., 2007. UNICA: variedad peruana para mercado fresco y papa frita con tolerancia y resistencia para condiciones climáticas adversas. Revista Latinoamericana de la Papa 14(1), 41–50. https://doi.org/10.37066/ralap....
 
18.
Havlin, J.L., Tisdale, S.L., Nelson, W.L., Beaton, J.D., 2016. Soil fertility and fertilizers. Pearson, New York.
 
19.
Hidoto, L., Worku, W., Mohammed, H., Taran, B., 2017. Effects of zinc application strategy on zinc content and productivity of chickpea grown under zinc deficient soils. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition 17(1), 112–126. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-....
 
20.
Holdridge, L.R., 1967. Life zone ecology (rev. ed.). Tropical Science Center, San José, Costa Rica.
 
21.
Kromann, P. et al., 2017. Can Andean potatoes be agronomically biofortified with iron and zinc fertilizers? Plant and Soil 411(1–2), 121–138. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104....
 
22.
Longnecker, N., Robson, A., 1993. Distribution and transport of zinc in plants. [In:] Robson, A. (Ed.), Zinc in Soils and Plants.
 
23.
Melash, A.A., Mengistu, D.K., 2020. Improving grain micronutrient content of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum var. durum) through agronomic biofortification to alleviate the hidden hunger. Advances in Agriculture 2020, 7825413. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/7....
 
24.
Mengist, M.F., Milbourne, D., Griffin, D., McLaughlin, M.J., Creedon, J., Jones, P. W., Alves, S., 2021. Zinc uptake and partitioning in two potato cultivars: implications for biofortification. Plant and Soil 463(1-2), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104....
 
25.
Miller, D.D., Welch, R.M., 2013. Food system strategies for preventing micronutrient malnutrition. Food Policy 42, 115–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.food....
 
26.
Mishra, G.P., Dikshit, H.K., Priti, Kukreja, B., Aski, M., Yadava, D.K., Sarker, A., Kumar, S., 2022. Historical overview of biofortification in crop plants and its implications. [In:] Kumar, S., Dikshit, H. K., Mishra, G. P., Singh, A. (Eds.), Biofortification of Staple Crops. Springer, Singapore, 31–61. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-98....
 
27.
Noulas, C., Tziouvalekas, M., Karyotis, T., 2018. Zinc in soils, water and food crops. Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology 49, 252–260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtem....
 
28.
Ortiz, R., 2010. La biofortificación de los cultivos para combatir la anemia y las deficiencias de micronutrientes en el Perú. Programa Mundial de Alimentos. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.....
 
29.
Phattarakul, N. et al., 2012. Biofortification of rice grain with zinc through zinc fertilization in different countries. Plant and Soil 361(1–2), 131–141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104....
 
30.
Praharaj, S., Skalicky, M., Maitra, S., Bhadra, P., Shankar, T., Brestic, M., Hejnak, V., Vachova, P., Hossain, A., 2021. Zinc biofortification in food crops could alleviate the zinc malnutrition in human health. Molecules 26(12), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecu....
 
31.
Prasad, R., Shivay, Y.S., 2020. Agronomic biofortification of plant foods with minerals, vitamins and metabolites with chemical fertilizers and liming. Journal of Plant Nutrition 43(10), 1534–1554. https://doi.org/10.1080/019041....
 
32.
Ram, S., Malik, V.K., Gupta, V., Narwal, S., Sirohi, M., Ankush., Pandey, V., Gupta, O.P., Misra, A.K., Singh, G., 2024. Impact of foliar application of iron and zinc fertilizers on grain iron, zinc, and protein contents in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Frontiers in Nutrition 11:1378937. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2....
 
33.
Sattar, A., Wang, X., Ul-Allah, S., Sher, A., Ijaz, M., Irfan, M., Abbas, T., Hussain, S., Nawaz, F., Al-Hashimi, A., Al Munqedhi, B.M., Skalicky, M., 2022. Foliar application of zinc improves morpho-physiological and antioxidant defense mechanisms, and agronomic grain biofortification of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under water stress. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences 29(3), 1699–1706. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs....
 
34.
Signorell, C., Zimmermann, M.B., Cakmak, I., Wegmüller, R., Zeder, C., Hurrell, R., Aciksoz, S.B., Boy, E., Tay, F., Frossard, E., Moretti, D., 2019. Zinc absorption from agronomically biofortified wheat is similar to post-harvest fortified wheat and is a substantial source of bioavailable zinc in humans. The Journal of Nutrition 149(5), 840–846. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxy....
 
35.
Singh, B., Goutam, U., Kukreja, S., Sharma, J., Sood, S., Bhardwaj, V., 2021. Potato biofortification: An effective way to fight global hidden hunger. Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants 27, 2297–2313. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12298....
 
36.
Skuta, I., Kołodziej, B., Filipek-Mazur, B., Antonkiewicz, J. 2025. The Use of Carbonate-Clay Flour, Sewage Sludge and Waste Sulfate Sulfur as Fertilizer Agents. Resources, 14(7), 113. https://doi.org/10.3390/resour....
 
37.
Stangoulis, J.C.R., Knez, M., 2022. Biofortification of major crop plants with iron and zinc - achievements and future directions. Plant and Soil 479(1-2), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104....
 
38.
Stevens, G.A., Beal, T., Mbuya, M.N.N., Luo, H., Neufeld, L.M., 2022. Micronutrient deficiencies among preschool-aged children and women of reproductive age worldwide: A pooled analysis of individual-level data from population-representative surveys. Lancet Global Health 10, e1590–e1599. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-....
 
39.
Srivastava, M., Tripathi, M.M., Kumar, S., Kumar, A., 2023. Fight against hidden hunger: Boosting zinc in potato through biofortification in calcareous soil of Bihar, India. International Journal of Environment and Climate Change 13(12), 1087–1094. https://doi.org/10.9734/ijecc/....
 
40.
Subramanian, N.K., White, P.J., Broadley, M.R., Ramsay, G., 2011. The three-dimensional distribution of minerals in potato tubers. Annals of Botany 107(4), 681–691. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mc....
 
41.
Suganya, A., Saravanan, A., Baskar, M., Pandiyarajan, P., Kavimani, R., 2020. Agronomic biofortification of maize (Zea mays L.) with zinc by using of graded levels of zinc in combination with zinc solubilizing bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Journal of Plant Nutrition 44(7), 988–994. https://doi.org/10.1080/019041....
 
42.
Ul-Allah, S., 2018. Combating hidden hunger in agriculture. [In:] Biesalski, H., Birner, R. (Eds.), Hidden Hunger: Strategies to Improve Nutrition Quality. Vol. 118, 161–166. https://doi.org/10.1159/000484....
 
43.
Veena, M., Puthur, J.T., 2021. Seed nutripriming with zinc is an apt tool to alleviate malnutrition. Environmental Geochemistry and Health 43, 4771–4784. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653....
 
44.
Walker, R., 2014. The Shame of Poverty. Vol. 15. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof....
 
45.
Walworth, J., Muniz, J., 1993. A compendium of tissue nutrient concentrations for field-grown potatoes. American Potato Journal 70, 579–597.
 
46.
Westermann, D. T., 2005. Nutritional requirements of potatoes. American Journal of Potato Research 82, 301–307.
 
47.
White, P.J., Bradshaw, J.E., Dale, M.F.B., Ramsay, G., Hammond, J.P., Broadley, M. R., 2009. Relationships between yield and mineral concentrations in potato tubers. HortScience 44(1), 6–11.
 
48.
White, P.J., Broadley, M.R., 2011. Physiological limits to zinc biofortification of edible crops. Frontiers in Plant Science 2, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2....
 
49.
White, P.J., Broadley, M.R., Hammond, J.P., Ramsay, G., Subramanian, N.K., Thompson, J., Wright, G., 2012. Bio-fortification of potato tubers using foliar zinc-fertiliser. Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology 87(2), 123–129. https://doi.org/10.1080/146203....
 
50.
Younas, N., Fatima, I., Ahmad, I.A., Ayyaz, M.K., 2022. Alleviation of zinc deficiency in plants and humans through an effective technique; biofortification: A detailed review. Acta Ecologica Sinica 42(6), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chna....
 
51.
Zhang, W., Liu, D., Liu, Y., Chen, X., Zou, C., 2017. Overuse of phosphorus fertilizer reduces the grain and flour protein contents and zinc bioavailability of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 65(8), 1473–1482. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.ja....
 
52.
Zhao, A. Qing, Tian, X., Hong, Cao, Y. Xian, Lu, X. Chun, Liu, T., 2014. Comparison of soil and foliar zinc application for enhancing grain zinc content of wheat when grown on potentially zinc-deficient calcareous soils. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 94(10), 2016–2022. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.6....
 
eISSN:2300-4975
ISSN:2300-4967
Journals System - logo
Scroll to top