Wheat grain Zn concentration has important implications for Zn dietary intake in humans. Zn biofortification of wheat by Zn foliar application has been recognized as an efficient tool to enhance grain Zn level. In Serbia, wheat is a staple crop, and no attention is paid to wheat grain as a source of Zn. For the first time, we investigated the effect of Zn foliar application on grain Zn concentration and yield of high-yielding local bread wheat cultivars in Serbia as potential to improve Zn intake in local population. Field experiments were conducted over two growing seasons at two sites located in Vojvodina Province. Zn was applied by spraying of 0.5% water solution of ZnSO₄ at the end of flowering stage. Zn foliar application had no significant effect on grain yield. Significant increases of Zn grain concentration resulted from Zn treatment in all of five cultivars tested, ranging from 15 to 49%. No significant difference between the two sites was found in the mean increase in grain Zn concentration by Zn foliar application compared with the control. No correlation was found between grain yield and grain Zn concentration, implying that high grain yields common in intensive wheat production in Serbia do not limit Zn biofortification of grain by Zn foliar application. Zn biofortification of wheat grain by a single foliar spray at the end of the flowering stage can be recommended as an efficient tool to increase Zn intake in human population and prevent low dietary Zn intake.

小麦籽粒中的锌含量对人体锌饮食的摄入量具有重要意义。通过施用锌叶面肥对小麦进行锌生物强化已经被认为是提高谷物中锌含量的有效工具。在塞尔维亚，小麦是主要农作物，因此没有注意小麦籽粒中锌的来源。首次，我们研究了叶面施用锌对塞尔维亚高产面包小麦品种籽粒锌浓度和产量的影响，以提高当地人群的锌摄入量。在伏伊伏丁那省的两个地点进行了两个生长季节的田间试验。通过喷涂0.5％的ZnSO ₄水溶液来施加Zn在开花期结束时。叶面喷施锌对谷物产量没有显着影响。在所有测试的五个品种中，锌处理均导致锌晶粒浓度显着增加，范围从15％到49％。与对照相比，通过叶面施用锌叶锌的平均锌浓度增加没有发现两个位置之间的显着差异。没有发现谷物产量与籽粒锌浓度之间的相关性，这意味着塞尔维亚集约化小麦生产中常见的高谷物产量不会限制锌叶面施用锌对谷物的生物强化作用。可以建议在开花期结束时通过单次叶面喷洒对小麦籽粒进行锌生物强化，作为增加人群中锌摄入量并防止低锌饮食摄入的有效工具。