Characterization of African Rice (Oryza glaberrima Steud.) Germplasm for Grain Iron and Zinc Content

Micronutrient deficiency is one of the major challenges for food security in developing nations. There is a need for the identification of micronutrient-rich genotypes for their direct use in the genetic enhancement of staple food crops using plant breeding strategies. In the present study, grain iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) contents of 29 accessions of Oryza glaberrima along with check varieties were analyzed for three seasons. Grain Fe ranged from 6.40 ppm to 12.10 ppm with a mean of 8.57 ppm, while Zn content exhibited manifold variation by ranging from 7.30 ppm to 34.40 ppm in the brown rice. There was a two-fold variation in Fe and Zn concentrations between accessions indicating the potential to boost these micronutrients in rice grain. Fifteen African rice accessions were better than the checks for grain Fe content, while four accessions outperformed checks with higher Zn content. Altogether, one O. glaberrima accession, CG 239 was found to be having high Zn content (34.7 ppm) in the brown rice making it a valuable source for biofortification of popular rice varieties using conventional and molecular approaches.