The weather may not respond to the whims of farmers, but the application of trace element fertilisers is one aspect of production that farmers can control, to produce “nutritious” plants and healthier people, says Victorian Nuffield Scholar Evan Ryan.
A 2009 Nuffield scholar, Mr Ryan began investigating the role of trace elements in agronomy, to increase productivity and profitability.
He has returned from almost four months of international travel with a renewed appreciation of the benefits trace elements provide for crops, but also for better human health.
Mr Ryan travelled to California, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri and Arizona in the US, and Saskatchewan and Manitoba in Canada during his scholarship.
He also visited England, Ireland, Scotland and Belgium, visiting farmers and research organisations and attending a number of grain industry conferences.
While travelling in the United Kingdom Mr Ryan visited the world’s oldest agricultural research centre, the Rothamsted Research Institute, where Professor Steve McGrath discussed the nutritional value of current wheat varieties.
Professor McGrath is a leading UK soil scientist at the Rothamsted Centre for Soils and Ecosystem Function, with a special interest in the optimisation of micronutrient status in food
crops.
Mr Ryan says the semi-dwarf wheat varieties that have been widely grown since the 1960s put lower concentrations of trace elements into the actual grain, a deficiency that flows through into human diets.
In developing countries half the population suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, making them more susceptible to disease and illness.
“Deficiencies are exacerbated where crops are grown in nutrient-deficient soils, and where poverty means people have limited access to a variety of foods including fresh fruit and vegetables, that might otherwise provide trace elements,” Mr Ryan said.
“Growing crops that can convert specific micronutrients from the soil into grain more efficiently than current varieties is one way to address these dietary deficiencies.”
Mr Ryan highlights zinc deficiencies as one issue research is working to address addressing.
He says zinc is critical to the development and functioning of the central nervous system, and worldwide more than a billion people are at risk of zinc deficiency, mostly in Asia and Africa.
Dr Ismail Cakmak, based at the Sebansci University in Turkey, is using genetics from wild wheat
varieties in that country, which have been shown to be highly efficient at converting zinc from soil into the grain.
During his travels, Mr Ryan was able to meet with Dr Cakmak to discuss his project, which is
part of the international HarvestPlus program. HarvestPlus is developing bio-fortified crops, focusing initially on increasing iron, zinc and vitamin A in the staple crops such as beans, cassava, maize, pearl millet, rice, sweet potato, and wheat.
“We can change our management in an economically viable way to help improve health outcomes for people eating our food,” Mr Ryan says.
“There’s a terrific opportunity in the grains industry to add value to our produce through an elevated mineral content.”
In developed nations like Australia, that may mean seeking a premium by targeting health conscious market sectors, such as those that have accepted higher prices for plant sterols in margarine to reduce cholesterol.
Mr Ryan says as a producer, his journey has confirmed the importance of making sure plants have access to the necessary macro and micronutrients during their growth cycle.
“Optimal levels of nutrition allow plants to deal more effectively with stresses that may be beyond the control of the farmer, and the plant, such as drought, or insect and disease attack. People take a multi-vitamin to make sure they can cope with stresses, and trace elements do the same things for plants,” he said.
While visiting the US, he met with Iowa farmer Kip Cullers, who holds the world record for soybean yield. Mr Ryan says Mr Cullers achieved his record through attention to detail – ensuring that his crop was never deficient in the minerals and trace elements it needed for each stage of its growth.
“Plant enzymes produce hormones needed for plant growth. If plants are stressed by a lack of an
essential nutrient they shut down the production of hormones and the production of grain. Providing trace elements keeps plants happy and provides a stable growth environment.”
Mr Ryan is planning trials with different combinations of macro and micro-nutrients as part of his own cropping program at Yarrawonga, on the Victorian-NSW border. He also intends to work towards developing premium markets for nutrient-enhanced grains.
He co-manages the family farm business at Yarrawonga with his parents John and Helene. Their
1000-hectare property ‘Clontarf’ includes 400 hectares of flood and sprinkler irrigation. They use no-till production systems, continuously cropping cereals, oilseeds, lucerne for seed and oats for hay.
Mr Ryan says although he had already done a considerable amount of research on micronutrients over the phone and on the internet, his scholarship provided him with an invaluable opportunity to meet with people face-to-face, and has given him a much broader perspective on the importance of agriculture.
Mr Ryan was sponsored for his Nuffield Scholarship by the Grain Growers Association (GGA).
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