Journal of Energy Bioscience 2025, Vol.16, No.3, 139-150 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/jeb 146 8.3 Environmental variability: soil pH, microbiome effects Whether wheat can absorb iron is also related to the planting environment. For example, the pH of the soil, the type of soil, and the microorganisms around the roots will affect the absorption of iron (Taskın and Gunes, 2022; Shi et al., 2020). In different soils, the "availability" of iron is different, and the absorption efficiency of wheat roots will also change. Microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere can sometimes help plants absorb and transport iron, but we don’t know much about these mechanisms, especially in real fields, which is even more difficult to predict (Shi et al., 2020). 8.4 Trade and intellectual property barriers There are still many policy and regulatory "blocking points" to promote iron-fortified wheat globally. Countries have different standards for the approval of new varieties, the ownership of seeds, and whether they can be freely circulated, which brings a lot of difficulties to international promotion (Gupta et al., 2024). In some developing countries, such as Africa, the commercialization of iron-fortified wheat is still relatively slow. This is not only a technical problem, but also related to policies and trade barriers. To solve these problems, countries need to strengthen cooperation and promote policy coordination. 9 Case Study: Success Story of Iron-Biofortified Wheat in India 9.1 Institutional collaboration: HarvestPlus, ICAR, IARI India’s successful promotion of iron-fortified wheat is inseparable from the cooperation of multiple institutions. HarvestPlus, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) are all involved in this process. These institutions have worked together on breeding, promotion, and policy support. Through resource integration and technology sharing, they have promoted the research and development and large-scale application of iron-fortified wheat, helping India lay the foundation for nutritional security (Kamble et al., 2022; Gupta et al., 2024). 9.2 Breeding process: Use of donor parents and marker-assisted selection During the breeding process, researchers first selected parent materials with high iron content. Then, molecular marker technology was used to help speed up screening, combine good traits together, and make breeding more efficient. Genotypes such as HP-06 and HP-22 have high iron and zinc contents and are suitable for continued use as breeding parents (Kamble et al., 2022; Sheera et al., 2023; Gupta et al., 2024). 9.3 Field performance and adoption: Yield comparison, farmer acceptance Some iron-fortified wheat varieties perform well in the field, such as HD 3298 and HI 8802. Not only are they high in iron content (HD 3298 has 43.1 ppm), they also have high yields and can adapt to harsh environments. Even when sown very late, HD 3298 can still produce 47.4 quintals/hectare, and HI 8802 has performed better than ordinary varieties in multiple local trials (Yadav et al., 2022; Singh et al., 2022). These varieties are nutritious, easy to grow, and accepted by farmers, and were quickly promoted throughout India (Kamble et al., 2022; Singh et al., 2022; Yadav et al., 2022). 9.4 Nutritional outcomes: human trials showing improved iron status Studies have shown that after replacing ordinary wheat with iron-fortified wheat, people eat a lot more "absorbable iron". Simulation data show that this will increase the available iron in the diet by 28%, and about 22.6 million people (almost 8% of the total population) will be freed from insufficient iron intake (Dhillon et al., 2008). Iron-fortified wheat is really useful in helping to solve the problem of iron deficiency (Dhillon et al., 2008; Gupta et al., 2024). 9.5 Lessons learned: scalability, supply chain, policy support Based on India’s experience, the large-scale promotion of iron-fortified wheat requires the coordination of several aspects: breeding must keep up, seed supply must be smooth, government support must be provided, and multiple institutions must work together (Kamble et al., 2022; Gupta et al., 2024; Ram et al., 2024). More efforts must be made in the future, such as improving supply chain management, ensuring continuous policy support, and
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