Agronomic Approach to Iron Biofortification in Chickpea

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a staple crop in many developing countries where iron (Fe) deficiency is severe. The biofortification of chickpea is a possible solution to address the Fe deficiency problem. A chickpea biofortification experiment was conducted under field conditions to evaluate the effects of different doses of Fe fertilizer (0 kg ha-1,10 kg ha-1 and 30 kg ha-1 of Fe-EDDHA) on the Fe content in seeds from 18 chickpea cultivars. The experiment was designed as a factorial combination of 18 chickpea cultivars and three Fe fertilizer doses in a randomized complete block design with four replications at two locations in Saskatchewan in 2015 and 2016. The Fe concentration in seeds across 18 different chickpea cultivars increased with Fe fertilization. Fe concentration in X05TH20-2 and CDC Frontier cultivars increased from 57 mu g g-1 to 59 mu g g-1 and from 56 mu g g-1 to 58 mu g g-1, respectively, after adding Fe fertilizer in both locations in 2015 and 2016. The biofortified seeds of these two cultivars can provide approximately 6 mg Fe 100-1 g seeds. Thus, 67 and 150 g of Fe biofortified chickpea seeds can provide 50% of the recommended dietary allowance of Fe for men and women.