Martin R Broadley

University of Nottingham | Notts · Division of Plant and Crop Sciences

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 suffic...

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...

The purpose of this research was to explore the speciation and bioaccessibility of native soil-derived selenium (Se) versus Se applied via fertiliser in the edible portions of maize, groundnut and cowpea grown in Malawi. Fertiliser-derived Se, applied as isotopically labelled selenate, contributed 88-97% of the total Se in the edible portions. Both...

Dietary zinc (Zn) deficiency is widespread globally, and is particularly prevalent in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) is consumed widely in LMICs due to its high protein content, and has potential for use in agronomic biofortification strategies using Zn. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Zn b...

Zinc (Zn) is an important element determining the grain quality of staple food crops and deficient in many Ethiopian soils. However, farming systems are highly variable in Ethiopia due to different soil types and landscape cropping positions. Zinc availability and uptake by plants from soil and fertilizer sources are governed by the retention and r...

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. Here, we show...

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 soil. Improved understanding of factors controlling the phyto-availability of Zn in soils can contribute to potential agronomic interventions to tackle Zn d...

Improving iron (Fe) concentration in staple grain crops could help reduce Fe-deficiency anaemia in communities dependent on plant-based diets. Co-application of nitrogen (N) and zinc (Zn) fertilizers has been reported to improve both yield and grain Zn concentration of crops in smallholder farming systems. This study was conducted to determine if s...

Amazonian Dark Earths (ADEs) are unusually fertile soils characterised by elevated concentrations of microscopic charcoal particles, which confer their distinctive colouration. Frequent occurrences of pre-Columbian artefacts at ADE sites led to their ubiquitous classification as Anthrosols (soils of anthropic origin). However, it remains unclear ho...

Zinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient, and Zn deficiency remains a major global public health challenge. Recognised biomarkers of population Zn status include blood plasma or serum Zn concentration and proxy data such as dietary Zn intake and prevalence of stunting. Urine Zn concentration is rarely used to assess population Zn status. This study...

Aim Magnesium (Mg) deficiency (known as grass tetany) is a serious metabolic disorder that affects grazing ruminants. We tested whether Mg-fertiliser can increase Mg concentration of Italian ryegrasses (Lolium multiflorum L.) including a cultivar (cv. Bb2067; ‘Magnet’), bred to accumulate larger concentrations of Mg. Methods Under controlled envir...

Aims An Italian ryegrass cultivar (Lolium multiflorum Lam. cv. Bb2067), selected and bred for increased leaf magnesium (Mg) concentration in the 1970s, reduced the incidence of hypomagnesaemia in sheep under experimental grazings. Here, we report evidence from archival experiments showing that cv. Bb2067 had consistently greater Mg concentrations a...

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...

Introduction: Micronutrient deficiencies, commonly referred to as ‘hidden hunger’, affect more than two billion people worldwide, with zinc and iron-deficiency frequently reported. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of consuming zinc biofortified flour (Zincol-2016) on biochemical and functional measures of status in adolescent girls an...

Consuming a diverse diet is essential to ensure an adequate intake of micronutrients. The aim of this study was to assess the nutritional status and dietary diversity of women of reproductive age (WRA) living in a marginalized community in rural Pakistan. Forty-seven WRA (35 ± 7 years old) who were not pregnant or lactating at enrollment, were recr...

Background: Phosphorus (P) deficiency limits crop production worldwide. Crops differ in their ability to acquire and utilise the P available. The aim of this study was to determine root traits (root exudates, root system architecture (RSA), tissue-specific allocation of P, and gene expression in roots) that (a) play a role in P-use efficiency and...

Background: Biofortification of wheat with zinc (Zn) through breeding and agronomy can reduce Zn deficiencies and improve human health. ‘High-Zn’ wheat varieties have been released in India and Pakistan, where wheat is consumed widely as a dietary staple. The aim of this study was to quantify the potential contribution of a ‘high-Zn’ wheat variety...

Our aim was to assess the mineral composition of corn silages produced in four states of Brazil: Goiás, Minas Gerais, Paraná, and Santa Catarina. In total, seventy-three samples were analyzed. Total element content was extracted by HNO3 and H2O2 microwave-assisted digestion, and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to dete...

Selenium (Se) is an essential element for human health and livestock productivity. Globally, human Se status is highly variable, mainly due to the influence of soil types on the Se content of crops, suggesting the need to identify areas of deficiency to design targeted interventions. In sub-Saharan Africa, including Ethiopia, data on population Se...

Serum zinc concentration (SZC) is used widely to assess population-level zinc status. Its concentration decreases during inflammatory responses, which can affect the interpretation of the results. This study aimed to re-estimate the prevalence of zinc deficiency in Malawi based on the 2015-2016 Malawi Micronutrient Survey (MNS) data, by adjusting S...

A set of thirty-six wheat cultivars were grown for two consecutive years under low and high nitrogen conditions. The interactions of cultivars with different environmental factors were shown to be highly significant for most of the studied traits, suggesting the presence of wider genetic variability which may be utilized for the genetic improvement...

Agronomic zinc (Zn) biofortification of crops could help to alleviate dietary Zn deficiency, which is likely to affect more than one billion people worldwide. To evaluate the efficiency of agronomic Zn biofortification of broccoli, four application treatments were tested: no Zn application (control); soil application of 5 mg/kg ZnSO₄·7 H...

Amazonian Dark Earths (ADEs) are soils studied for archaeological purposes and as a potentially agricultural model for the humid tropic. We investigated the chemical composition of an ADE in comparison to an adjacent Ultisol without anthropic influence for better understanding the origin of ADE fertility and formation process. Three hundred ADE and...

A diverse panel of 245 wheat genotypes, derived from crosses between landraces from the Watkins collection representing global diversity in the early 20th century and the modern wheat cultivar Paragon, was grown at two field sites in the UK in 2015–16 and the concentrations of zinc and iron determined in wholegrain using inductively coupled plasma-...

Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research sp...

Millions of people have Zn-deficient diets, so Zn-biofortified crops could prevent such deficiency. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of agronomic Zn biofortification of broccolini – a new hybrid crop variety derived from a cross between kalian cabbage and broccoli. Plants were grown in pots using a Zn deficient soil. Four fertiliser tr...

Background: Micronutrient deficiencies including selenium (Se) are widespread in Malawi and potentially underlie a substantial disease burden, particularly among poorer and marginalised populations. Concentrations of Se in staple cereal crops can be increased through application of Se fertilisers - a process known as agronomic biofortification (ag...

Background: Selenium (Se) is an essential element for humans and animals. Rice is one of the most consumed cereals in the world, so agronomic biofortification of cereals with Se may be a good strategy to increase the levels of daily intake of Se by the population. This study evaluated agronomic biofortification of rice genotypes with Se and its ef...

Plasma selenium (Se) concentration is an established population level biomarker of Se status, especially in Se-deficient populations. Previously observed correlations between dietary Se intake and urinary Se excretion suggest that urine Se concentration is also a potentially viable biomarker of Se status. However, there are only limited data on uri...

Modifications of root system morphology and architecture are considered important strategies of plant tolerance to phosphorus (P) deficiency. However, the effect of culture system on the responses of root traits to P deficiency is not well documented. In this study, the responses of root traits to P deficiency were recorded in a Brassica napus doub...

Background Micronutrient deficiencies including selenium (Se) are widespread in Malawi and potentially underlie a substantial disease burden, particularly among poorer and marginalised populations. Concentrations of Se in staple cereal crops can be increased through application of Se fertilisers – a process known as agronomic (agro-) biofortificati...