National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS)
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PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692 Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com / submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
Biofortification is a probable and cost-effective means of providing micronutrients to populations that may have limited access to diverse diets and other micronutrient intercession. Micronutrient deficiency, also known as ‘hidden hunger’ is one of the most important provocations facing humanity today. According to world health organization (WHO) report about 3 billion people worldwide suffer from micronutrients deficiency. In India, malnutrition problems like anaemia about more than 52% of women suffer, 44% of children below 5 years are underweight and 38% are stunted. Therefore, to overcome the malnutrition in human beings, improvement of crop quality by bio-fortification process for important crop plants through biotechnological applications that is sustainable solution. Target crops for increase micronutrient status like rice and maize for Fe, Zn, Pro-vitamin A and wheat, pearl millet, sorghum, small millets for Zn and Fe. Two approaches for bio-fortification i.e., agronomic and genetic used to increase nutrients level in stable food crops. Bio-fortified crop varieties are developed by plant breeding using selective breeding and genetic modification. In wheat recreated synthetics, wild relatives and landraces are being used as progenitor for high Zn/Fe source and approaches are backcross, bulk scheme and wide-cross uses for development of fortified varieties. Pearl Millet, as a species, has higher levels of Fe and Zn densities than other major cereal crops many varieties developed in pearl millet. The development of the ‘golden rice’ proved that biofortified crop developed through genetic engineering. In maize QPM is a product of conventional plant breeding (i.e., it is not genetically modified) it produces 70-100% more of lysine and tryptophan than the most modern varieties. Given the severity of mineral malnutrition in humans worldwide, biofortification of micronutrients, especially Fe and Zn, in cereals must be encouraged.
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