Nutritive appraisal of various wheat varieties/lines for developing biofortified wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.)

Essential micronutrients such as iron and zinc deficiencies affect more than two billion people globally especially the pregnant women and children below the age of five. Wheat, like many other staple cereals, contains low levels of the essential micronutrients iron and zinc. It contributes 13.1 percent to the value added in agriculture and 2.8 percent to GDP of Pakistan. National Wheat Breeding program at Faisalabad, Pakistan analyzed 240 samples of wheat varieties/lines both from irrigated and rainfed conditions. The analysis revealed that 1000 grain weight ranged from 23.9-50.2 in irrigated and 31-42.0 g in rainfed conditions while test weight range was found to be 59.9-75.8 (irrigated) and 64.5-79.9 Kg hl-1 (rain-fed). Protein and gluten content ranged between 12.0-16.1 & 13-16.2 and 21-34 & 21-38% in irrigated and rainfed trial, respectively. Starch content was found to be 51.8-57.1 and 51.9-56.1% in irrigated and rain-fed set, respectively. Falling No. (FN) values were recorded in the range of 352-814 in irrigated and 352-814 sec in the rain-fed set. Most of the varieties/lines had narrow range of Zn (31- 32.6 & 31.2-33.9) and Fe (35-40 & 35-43 ppm) in irrigated and rainfed trial, respectively. In irrigated, conditions, cluster 3(5 genotypes) represented relatively high value of Fe and Zn contents while in rainfed condition, cluster 2 (31 genotypes) and cluster 3(15 genotypes) represented relatively high value Zn. Statistical analysis of both sets showed gluten & protein being directly correlated to each other, showing a positive correlation with Fe & Zn but a negative one with starch. In both sets, a direct correlation of FN with starch was observed only in rainfed set.