Zinc (Zn) fertilization is an effective agronomic tool for Zn biofortification of wheat to overcome Zn deficiency in humans. Zinc deficiency in humans caused by inadequate dietary intake is a global nutritional problem. Biofortification of wheat with Zn is, therefore, an important challenge and a high-priority research work. In the present study, a field experiment was conducted to explore the impact of soil and foliar Zn application on yield and grain zinc concentration of wheat. The results showed that application of Zn produced significant impact on the grain yield and its components, that is, number of tillers, number of grains spike-1 and 1000-kernel weight. It is revealed that foliar Zn application was much more effective than soil Zn application in enrichment of wheat grain with Zn. When compared with the control, grain Zn concentrations were increased to 25 and 46% by soil and foliar application of Zn, respectively. The results suggest that substantial improvement in wheat productivity could be obtained with simultaneous increased concentration of Zn nutrient in grain for providing more dietary Zn to human through wheat.

Keywords: Biofortification, methods of zinc application, grain yield, wheat, zinc concentration.