Iron deficiency: A global issue and its possible remedies

Abstract

Iron (Fe) is one of the essential element required by plants to do various metabolic and respiration processes. The deficiency of Fe is becoming a very important global issue in the present day world due to various factors such as such as non-uniform concentration in soil, soil pH, less organic matter, soil moisture content and interaction of Fe with other nutrients. After the absorption, translocation and uneven distribution of Fe inside the plant body is another problem. Most of the absorbed Fe get accumulated in straw part and makes the grains deficient of it. As more than 50% of world’s population depends on plant based foods mainly cereals so a large proportion of humans are suffering from Fe deficiency. Various strategies like dietary diversification, supplementation and food fortification can be used to alleviate the Fe deficiency in human population. Whereas, biofortification through breeding, genetic engineering and agronomic approaches are the principle ways to improve the Fe content in grains of crop plants.