Fruit crops are being increasingly felt in our dietary requirements , thereby , reducing the load on consumption of cereals. Needless to elaborate on the biologically active nutrient value of fruits. But , unfortunately , producing nutrient dense fruit crops does not find any place of prominence , neither in research curriculum ( Since most of the input responsive experiments address the issue of production/productivity , besides quality) nor while selecting the nutrient efficient species/variety, with the result , this issue remains an unfinished agenda . I wanted to know from our learned researchers , what could be ways and means to develop fruits loaded with nutrients( Especially there is comparatively higher nutrient concentration in edible fruit parts) , called nutrient dense fruits.
For the beginning, you should identify which nutrients you want to concentrate in your fruit. It should be a nutrient that is biochemically well characterized, in terms of its uptake, transport and/or biosynthetic pathway. You may want to use a transgenic approach, enhancing the bottleneck step(s) in the biochemical pathways, especially biosynthesis. Tissue-specific overproduction of a key enzyme, involved in the bottleneck step, might be a good first step to try out your luck.
Thanks Martin . You can not select any specific nutrient as such to look at . We more concerned about the nutrients whose deficiencies are of global nature . For example, Zn , Fe , B etc. Such nutrients , are , though , micronutrients , their requirements are small but they segregate abysmally low in edible plant parts. Unfortunately , their entire metabolism ( Except Fe) , either outside the plant or inside the plant , starting from roots to its final allocation into the edible plant part as final sink , is still not well defined.
The very purpose of floating this question was to have a complete repository of modules of having a nutrient loaded crop . The biggest problem , especially with perennial fruits is that fruits as a nutrient sink becomes very weak towards crop maturity stage compared to leaves , with the result , micronutrients like Fe, Zn , Mn, B are accumulated almost in a hardly measurable concentration . This is beside the inherent character of most of the micronutrients being moderately mobile within the plant, as one of the handicaps in having a nutrient rich fruits ( As a edible plant part ).
Anoop Kumar really opened totally a new field of research which, in my opinion, can be very useful to remove dietary deficiencies of nutrients like Fe and Zn. Anoop Kumar says right that flow of nutrients in the final stages is towards vegetative parts instead of fruit. What we can do is select one or two elements and one or two fruits to start the research experiments. In case of a success we can go to other fruit.
That's exactly what i meant Dr Nazir, you have correctly caught me . Unfortunately the edible parts of major fruits prove to be very weak sink for micronutrients , with the result, fruits continue to be insufficient source of micronutrients with respect to meeting the so called daily dietary requirements . Neither , there is any concrete effort to screen germplasms for nutrient efficient types , and divert the nutrient efficient types into breeding objective. It raises another very pertinent issue , whether it is a simple plant physiology/biochemistry /plant nutrient management issue or exclusively a breeding issue to have a nutrient dense fruit crops.
I think that we have to investigate in all the fields separately, breeding new cultivars and managing nutrient accumulation in fruit parts through biochemistry and physiological mechanisms.
I agree Dr Nazir . But you know , in perennial fruits , clonal selection is a rapid and well proven short cut method to conventional breeding to get the improved plant type , which can later be multiplied vegetatively to get true-to- type plant on a mass scale . Have we ever attempted to look at identifying nutrient efficient clone(s) in fruit crops with the objectivity of having better allocation of micronutrients in edible plant parts. Have we screened the available germplasms for nutrient efficient plant types. Such attempts are miniscule in number .
Sorry Dr. Anoop Kumar, I am not a breeder and do not understand breeding too much. Bringing new cultivars in perennials is not an easy task. Clonal selection play its role here. You are right that breeding/selection for nutrient/daily dietary rich fruits have never a target in the past in most of the cases. A group of plant selectors can start work in bigger fruit research centers. However, the teams should be multidisciplinary including breeders, chemists, nutritionists, physiologists etc. The probable roadmap could be
1. Selection of plants of a few cultivars of one or two fruits of same age, growing under similar conditions and being given uniform fertilizers and manures.
2. Identification of 2-3 micronutrients for example Fe, cu or any two found the most deficient in the area or region.
3. Obtaining fruit samples at maturity and determining content of selected nutrients in the samples
If significant differences do exist in different cultivars, it will mean that this trait is controlled fully or partially by genom make up. Then the teams led by breeders can start their work.
Simultaneously, some agronomic practices like pruning of some vegetative parts at the stage of maturity should also be investigated.
Similarly, contribution of soil nutrients status for selected nutrients and aerial sprays should be thrashed by Soil Scientists.
The list is not exhaustive but some indications are included in it. Fertile brains of the globe can bring here many innovative ideas. We invite them to play their role.
Excellent Dr Nazir for providing such a wholesome roadmap . Hope , our other esteemed colleagues would interact on these issues which possess so much promise to play.
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