The overall objective to which this project aims to contribute is to identify and investigate agronomic management practices potentially suited to biofortify cereal grains in order to alleviate human Zn deficiency in regions with soils low in available Zn and populations depending on cereals for Zn nutrition such as in central Iran. In this project, we focus on the possibility to increase the density and nutritional availability of Zn in wheat grains by improving the organic factors of soil fertility in these regions. In particular, we will investigate the effects of the addition of different forms of organic matter and of mycorrhizae on the growth and Zn accumulation of various wheat genotypes under different soil moisture and nutrient conditions.

The nutritional arm of the project aims to evaluate the impact and usefulness of zinc biofortified wheat on zinc status in populations of low socioeconomic status in rural areas. We will evaluate the current zinc intake, bioavailability and status of rural Iranian populations and evaluate the contribution of biofortified zinc to maintaining zinc balance and improving zinc retention. This will include dietary surveys, stable isotope studies to monitor zinc absorption, zinc excretion and zinc balance in human subjects consuming varying levels of additional zinc, and a  9 month feeding study to demonstrate the efficacy of wheat foods containing biofortified zinc in improving zinc status. Biofortified wheat flour will be compared to wheat flour fortified in the traditional way.

The goal is to obtain information that can be easily translated into recommendation for farmers and public health specialists but at the same time we also aim to improve the understanding of limiting mechanisms and processes involved in this type of biofortification in order to enhance the trans­ferability of the knowledge gained to other site conditions and management schemes.