Background and Aim: Zinc (Zn) deficiency arising from inadequate dietary intake is a world nutritional problem in human populations. A great and monotonous use of wheat-based products quickly results in Zn malnutrition since wheat is inherently low in Zn. Thus it is important to improve the nutritive value of cereals by increasing the lev- els of Zn and/or decreasing the content of anti-nutritional factors. Improvement of Zn content in wheat grain by bi- fortification (agronomic and genetic methods) is a proper approach for providing Zn requirements of the body and reducing the malnutrition. Methods: A field and greenhouse experiment was con- ducted to investigate the effect of Zn application on the yield and quality of wheat in calcareous soils during the years 2013-14 in Maragheh University, Iran. The treatments were the three factors including (1) foliar application of Zn at the different growth stages, (2) Zn application methods, and (3) wheat genotypes. Results: The results indicated that Zn application increased grain yield. Also the grain Zn and ascorbic acid (AsA) con- tent consistently was enhanced, and phytic acid (PA) con- tent and molar ration of PA to Zn were significantly reduced with the timing of the foliar Zn application, and were high- est at early grain filling stage. Moreover, in Zn treatments, amino acids contents were increased that resulted in high- er grain protein content in compare to Zn deficient condi- tion. Bread wheat genotypes had higher quantitative and qualitative yield than durum wheats. Conclusion: Fertilizer strategy (e.g. agronomic biofortifica- tion) appears as short-term solution to alleviate malnutri- tion problem by improving the grain’s nutritional quality for humans.
