| Summary: | Iodine is an essential trace nutrient for humans; its deficit can affect motor and cognitive development. Biofortifying crops with iodine is a way of promoting the adequate intake of this element. The uses of chitosan-iodine complexes for crop biofortification have not been previously studied. The present work evaluated the effects of KIO<sub>3</sub> and KI salts, chitosan-KIO<sub>3</sub> complex (Cs-KIO<sub>3</sub>), and chitosan-KI complex (Cs-KI) application on lettuce, with a chitosan-only treatment as a control and water as the absolute control. Each treatment involved the application of 0, 5, and 25 mg I kg<sup>−1</sup> soil applied before transplanting or 25 mg I kg<sup>−1</sup> soil applied as split doses of 12.5 mg kg<sup>−1</sup>, once immediately before transplanting and the second application 15 days later. Single application of Cs-KIO<sub>3</sub> at 5 and 25 mg I kg<sup>−1</sup> increased lettuce biomass while the split-dose application (SDA) of Cs-KI (25 mg I kg<sup>−1</sup>) led to a decrease in biomass. Maximum accumulation of iodine in lettuce was observed after the application of KIO<sub>3</sub> (25 mg I kg<sup>−1</sup>) in two parts. This study shows that the use of chitosan complexes, especially Cs-KIO<sub>3</sub>, may be a viable alternative for crop biofortification with iodine without affecting crop yields.
|
|---|