Martin R Broadley

Rothamsted Research · Sustainable Soils & Crops

Africa’s potential for scientific research is not yet being realized, for various reasons including a lack of researchers in many fields and insufficient funding. Strengthened research capacity through doctoral training programmes in higher education institutes (HEIs) in Africa, to include collaboration with national, regional and international res...

The biofortification of edible crops with selenium (Se) is a common and effective strategy to address inadequate Se intake, which is suffered by millions of people worldwide. However, there is little information regarding the effects of this practice on crops belonging to the important Brassica family. To evaluate the efficacy of foliar Se applicat...

Micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs) particularly zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) remain widespread in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) due to low dietary intake. Wheat is an important source of energy globally, although cultivated wheat is inherently low in grain micronutrient concentrations. Malawian wheat/Am. muticum and Malawian wheat/T. urartu BC1F3 introgressio...

Introduction The current study investigated the value of urine selenium (Se) concentration as a biomarker of population Se status in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Method Urine and plasma Se concentrations were measured among children aged 6–59 months (n = 608) and women of reproductive age (WRA, n = 781) living in rural Zimbabwe (Murehwa, Shamva, and...

Through diverse roles, zinc determines a greater number of critical life functions than any other single micronutrient. Beyond the well-recognized importance of zinc for child growth and resistance to infections, zinc has numerous specific roles covering the regulation of glucose metabolism, and growing evidence links zinc deficiency with increased...

Improved crop genotypes are constantly introduced. However, information on their nutritional quality is generally limited. The present study reports the proximate composition and the concentration and relative bioavailability of minerals of improved finger millets of different genotypes. Grains of finger millet genotypes (n = 15) grown in research...

Aim Zinc deficiencies are widespread in many soils, limiting crop growth and contributing to Zn deficiencies in human diets. This study aimed at understanding soil factors influencing grain Zn concentrations and uptake of crops grown in different landscape positions in West Amhara, Ethiopia. Methods On-farm experiments were conducted in three land...

Introduction There is spatial variability of selenium (Se) in soil and crops in Ethiopia. We assessed the Se content of food items, breast milk, and urine among infants in Ethiopia from two areas with contrasting Se concentrations in soils. Methods Dietary Se intakes among children (6–23 months) were evaluated using a weighed food record on two no...

Agronomic biofortification, encompassing the use of mineral and organic nutrient resources which improve micronutrient concentrations in staple crops is a potential strategy to promote the production of and access to micronutrient-dense foods at the farm level. However, the heterogeneity of smallholder farming landscapes presents challenges on impl...

Micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs), also known as hidden hunger, affect more than a quarter of the global population. Agronomic biofortification helps to increase the concentration of a target mineral in food crops and improve human mineral dietary intake. It is a means of providing nutrient-dense foods to a larger population, especially among rural...

Regenerative Agriculture (RA) is used to describe nature-based agronomic approaches that aim to build soil health and crop resilience, minimize negative environmental outcomes, and improve farmer livelihoods. A benefit that is increasingly attributed to crops grown under RA practices is improved nutritional content. However, we do not know the exte...

Micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs), also known as hidden hunger, affects more than a quarter of the global population. Agronomic biofortification helps to increase concentration of a target mineral in food crops and improve human mineral dietary intake. It is a means of providing nutrient dense foods to a larger population especially among rural res...

Introduction Selenium (Se) deficiency is increasingly recognized as a public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods The current cross-sectional study assessed the prevalence and geospatial patterns of Se deficiency among children aged 6–59 months ( n = 741) and women of 15–49 years old ( n = 831) selected by simple random sampling in rural...

Anemia is characterized by low hemoglobin (Hb) concentration. Despite being a public health concern in Ethiopia, the role of micronutrients and non-nutritional factors as a determinant of Hb concentrations has been inadequately explored. This study focused on the assessment of serum micronutrient and Hb concentrations and a range of non-nutritional...

The communication of uncertainty is not only a challenge when soil information has been produced but also in the planning stage. When planning a survey of soil properties it is necessary to make decisions about the sampling density. Sampling density determines both the quality of predictions and the cost of fieldwork. In this study, we considered f...

The present study aimed to investigate the influence of genotypic differences on responses to zinc and iron agronomic biofortification among yields of finger millet. A field experiment was con-ducted over two seasons in farmers’ fields in Ethiopia (2019, 2020). The experimental design had 15 treatment combinations comprising three finger millet gen...

Background Food crop micronutrient concentrations can be enhanced through agronomic biofortification, with the potential to reduce micronutrient deficiencies among rural population if they have access to fertilizers. Here we reported the impact of agronomic biofortification on finger millet grain zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) concentration. Methods A fi...

The present study aimed to investigate influence of genotypic differences to zinc and iron agronomic biofortification responses among yield of finger millet. A field experiment was conducted over two seasons in farmers’ fields in Ethiopia (2019, 2020). The experimental design had 15 treatment combinations comprising 3 finger millet varieties and ap...

Climate change is a defining challenge of the 21st century, and this decade is a critical time for action to mitigate the worst effects on human populations and ecosystems. Plant science can play an important role in developing crops with enhanced resilience to harsh conditions (e.g., heat, drought, salt stress, flooding, disease outbreaks) and eng...

Agronomic biofortification, encompassing the use of mineral and organic nutrient resources to improve micronutrient concentration in staple crops, is a potential strategy to promote production and access of micronutrient-dense foods at farm-level. However, the heterogeneity of smallholder farming landscapes presents challenges on implementing agron...

A proper understanding of the residual value of zinc (Zn) is necessary for sustainable biofortification of food crops. This study aimed to establish the extent to which application of Zn at the national rate, plus two experimentally elevated rates, in one year provided any benefit to plant yield and nutritional quality in the following growing seas...

Globally, anemia is a public health problem affecting mostly women of reproductive age (WRA, n = 452) and children aged 6–59 months (n = 452) from low‐ and lower‐middle‐income countries. This cross‐sectional study assessed the prevalence and determinants of anemia in WRA and children aged 6–59 months in rural Zimbabwe. The venous blood sample was m...

Background Inadequate dietary zinc (Zn) supplies and Zn deficiency (ZnD) are prevalent in Ethiopia, where cereals are major dietary sources, yet low in bioavailable Zn. Zinc agronomic biofortification (ZAB) of staple crops through application of Zn fertilizers may contribute to alleviating ZnD. However, large-scale promotion and adoption of ZAB req...

Zinc (Zn) deficiency remains a public health problem in Malawi, especially among poor and marginalized rural populations, linked with low dietary intake of Zn due to consumption of staple foods that are low in Zn content. The concentration of Zn in staple cereal grain can be increased through application of Zn‐enriched fertilizers, a process called...

A controlled in-vitro experiment was conducted to determine the bioaccessibility of extrinsic soil iron in pearl millet contaminated with typical Malawian soils. Pearl millet was contaminated with soils at ratios typically encountered in real life. Iron concentrations of soil-contaminated flour increased such that soil-derived iron contributed 56,...

Recent surveys have revealed substantial spatial variation in the micronutrient composition of cereals in Ethiopia, where a single national micronutrient concentration values for cereal grains are of limited use for estimating typical micronutrient intakes. We estimated the district-level dietary mineral supply of staple cereals, combining district...

Selenium (Se) is essential for human health, however, data on population Se status and agriculture‐nutrition‐health linkages are limited in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). The scoping review aims to identify linkages between Se in soils/crops, dietary Se intakes, and livestock and human Se status in SSA. Online databases, organisational websites and grey...

The dataset comprises primary data for the concentration of 29 mineral micronutrients in cereal grains and up to 84 soil chemistry properties from GeoNutrition project surveys in Ethiopia and Malawi. The work provided insights on geospatial variation in the micronutrient concentration in staple crops, and the potential influencing soil factors. In...

Mineral micronutrient deficiencies (MND), prevalent in many countries, are linked to soil type. Stakeholders in Malawi, with different information needs, require spatial information about soil micronutrients in order to design efficient interventions. These stakeholders require reliable evidence for them to act, in most cases the outcome of their d...

The Amazon rainforest is a heterogeneous ecosystem and its soils exhibit geographically variable concentrations of trace elements. In this region, anthropic activities - e.g., agriculture and mining - are numerous and varied, and even natural areas are at risk of contamination by trace elements, either of geogenic or anthropogenic origin. A reliabl...

Introduction: Selenium (Se) is an essential mineral for livestock health and productivity. In cattle, Se deficiency is associated with delayed conception, growth retardation, and increased morbidity and mortality. Methods: We conducted a survey of cattle serum (n = 224) and feed (n = 81) samples from two areas with contrasting human and cereal g...

The value of physical archives of soil material from field sampling activities has been widely recognized. If we want to use archive material for new destructive analyses to support a task, such as spatial mapping, then an efficient sub-sampling strategy is needed, both to manage analytical costs and to conserve the archive material. In this paper...

We estimated dietary supplies of total and available protein and indispensable amino acids (IAAs) and predicted the risk of deficiency in Malawi using Household Consumption and Expenditure Survey data. More than half of dietary protein was derived from cereal crops, while animal products provided only 11%. The supply of IAAs followed similar patter...

Aims Selenium (Se) as selenate shares similarities with sulfate in transport and assimilation by plants. Uptake and assimilation of Se might be affected by S and vice-versa, which could affect Se and S concentration in plant tissues, and metabolic pathways such as biosynthesis of sugars, amino acids, and storage proteins. This study aimed to evalua...

Abstract Dietary zinc (Zn) deficiency is widespread globally, and in particular among people in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In Malawi, dietary sources of Zn are dominated by maize and spatially dependent variation in grain Zn concentration, which will affect dietary Zn intake, has been reported at distances of up to ~ 100 km. The aim of this study wa...

Foliar biofortification is one effective way to alleviate the inadequate intake of selenium (Se) of millions of people worldwide. To evaluate the efficacy of foliar Se application in broccolini (a new hybrid crop variety derived from a cross between kalian cabbage and broccoli), three treatments were tested: 0, 0.05% or 0.10% (w/v) sodium selenate,...

Biofortification of wheat is potentially a sustainable strategy to improve zinc intake; however, evidence of its effectiveness is needed. A household-based, double-blind, cluster-randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted in rural Pakistan. The primary objective was to examine the effects of consuming zinc-biofortified wheat flour on the zinc...

Consumption of yerba mate occurs mostly in the form of hot infusion (chimarrão). Water solubility of elements found in commercialized yerba mate is needed to establish nutritional value and risks associated with potentially toxic elements. In this study, yerba mate products marketed in three Brazilian states (Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande...

Spatial information, inferred from samples, is needed for decision-making, but is uncertain. One way to convey uncertain information is with probabilities (e.g. that a value falls below a critical threshold). We examined how different professional groups (agricultural scientists or health and nutrition experts) interpret information, presented this...

Multiple micronutrient deficiencies are widespread in Ethiopia. However, the distribution of selenium and zinc deficiency risks has previously shown evidence of spatially dependent variability, warranting the need to explore this aspect for wider micronutrients. Here, blood serum concentrations for calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), cobalt (Co), copper...

A new variety of zinc biofortified wheat (Zincol-2016) was released in Pakistan in 2016. The primary aim of this study was to examine the effects of consuming Zincol-2016 wheat flour on biochemical and functional markers of zinc status in a population with widespread zinc deficiency. An individually-randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled cros...

Objective To review existing publications using Household Consumption & Expenditure Survey (HCES) data to estimate household dietary nutrient supply to (1) describe scope of available literature, (2) identify the metrics reported and parameters used to construct these metrics, (3) summarize comparisons between estimates derived from HCES and indivi...

Background: Selenium deficiency is widespread in the Malawi population. The selenium concentration in maize, the staple food crop of Malawi, can be increased by applying selenium-enriched fertilizers. It is unknown whether this strategy, called agronomic biofortification, is effective at alleviating selenium deficiency. Objectives: The aim of the A...

Surveys of soil fertility and quality provide essential information, at multiple scales, for policy and management decisions on agricultural and environmental questions. Such surveys are expensive, and national-scale agricultural or geochemical surveys are conducted infrequently by public sector organisations. Where resources are scarce, the costs...

Background Dietary zinc (Zn) deficiency is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with adverse impacts on human health. Agronomic biofortification with Zn fertilizers and improved soil fertility management, using mineral and organic nutrient resources, has previously been shown to increase Zn concentration of staple grain crops, including maize. He...

Magnesium (Mg) is essential for animal health. Low Mg status (hypomagnesaemia) can be potentially fatal in ruminants, like cattle and sheep, and is widespread in Europe with economic impacts on farming. The application of Mg-rich agricultural lime products can help to ensure pasture forage consumed by animals contains sufficient Mg and, in areas of...

Background and Aims Some Caryophyllales species accumulate abnormally large shoot sodium (Na) concentrations in nonsaline environments. It is not known whether this is a consequence of altered Na partitioning between roots and shoots. This paper tests the hypotheses (1) that Na concentrations in shoots ([Na]shoot) and in roots ([Na]root) are positi...

Wheat ( Tritcum aestivum L.) is an important cereal crop, consumed by over 2.5 billion people globally. The current demand for wheat in Malawi is estimated to be 200,000 tonnes/year with a projected growth in consumption of 3%-6% annually. We reviewed literature and databases on wheat production, imports, processing and consumption to describe curr...

Background: This study reports findings from formative research conducted to assess the feasibility and inform the design and implementation of the Addressing Hidden Hunger with Agronomy (AHHA) trial. The AHHA trial was a randomised, controlled trial conducted in rural Malawi, in which participants were given maize flour biofortified with selenium...

Zinc (Zn) deficiency is a widespread nutritional problem in human populations, especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The Zn concentration of crops consumed depends in part on the Zn status of the soil. Improved understanding of factors controlling the phyto-availability of Zn in soils can contribute to potential agronomic interventions to tackle...

Magnesium (Mg) is essential for animal health. Low Mg status (hypomagnesaemia) can be potentially fatal in ruminants, like cattle and sheep, and is widespread in Europe with economic impacts on farming. The application of Mg-rich agricultural lime products can help to ensure pasture forage consumed by animals contains sufficient Mg and, in areas of...

Micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs) remain widespread among people in sub-Saharan Africa1–5, where access to sufficient food from plant and animal sources that is rich in micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) is limited due to socioeconomic and geographical reasons4–6. Here we report the micronutrient composition (calcium, iron, selenium and zinc) o...

Backgorund Cowpea is a crop widely used in developing countries due its rusticity. Besides its rich genotypic variability, most breeding programs do not explore its potential to improve elements uptake. Selenium (Se) is a scarce element in most soils, resulting in its deficiency being common in human diets. This study aimed to evaluate the interact...

The concentration of micronutrients in staple crops varies spatially. Quantitative information about this can help in designing efficient interventions to address micronutrient deficiency. Concentration of a micronutrient in a staple crop can be mapped from limited samples, but the resulting statistical predictions are uncertain. Decision makers mu...

Background: Potassium (K) is an essential mineral and major intracellular electrolyte involved in the regulation of blood pressure, muscle contraction and nerve transmission in humans. Major dietary sources of K include fruits and vegetables, starchy roots and tubers, and whole grains. The aim of this study was to assess and report: (i) the suffici...

Background This study reports findings from formative research conducted to assess the feasibility and inform the design and implementation of the Addressing Hidden Hunger with Agronomy (AHHA) trial. The AHHA trial was a randomised, controlled trial conducted in rural Malawi, in which participants were given maize flour biofortified with selenium o...

Magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca) are essential mineral nutrients poorly supplied in many human food systems. In grazing livestock, Mg and Ca deficiencies are costly welfare issues. Here, we report a Brassica rapa loss-of-function schengen3 (sgn3) mutant, braA.sgn3.a-1, which accumulates twice as much Mg and a third more Ca in its leaves. We mapped b...

Zinc (Zn) is an essential nutrient for human health. In Ethiopia, a high prevalence of Zn deficiency has been reported. To explore demographic variation and spatial dependencies in the Zn status of the Ethiopian population, we analyzed archived serum samples (n = 3373) from the 2015 Ethiopian National Micronutrient Survey (ENMS), a cross-sectional...