Improving Maize Nutritional Quality and Production With Organic Acids and Compost‐Based Iron Enrichment to Overcome Iron Malnutrition

Iron deficiency in staple crops like maize contributes significantly to global micronutrient malnutrition, particularly in developing countries. Despite advancements in agronomic biofortification, synergistic approaches combining organic acids and soil amendments remain underexplored, creating a research gap. A 2 year field experiment (2023–2024) was conducted using a randomised complete block design with a factorial arrangement to test the effects of organic acids (control, citric, oxalic, tartaric) and soil amendments (control, Fe, compost, Fe + compost). The objective of the study was to compare organic acids and organic amendments for maize production and Fe fortification. The research contributes to enhancing Fe fortification and opens a way to explore more genetic and molecular‐level studies. The highest grain yields (10.07 and 9.86 t ha −1 ) were recorded under tartaric acid along with Fe + compost application showing an increase of 76.09% and 76.13% over the control during 2023 and 2024, respectively. Similarly, the highest root iron contents (191.67 and 201.00 mg kg −1 of dry weight) and shoot iron content (150.19 and 144.67 mg kg −1 of dry weight) were also recorded in tartaric acid along with Fe + compost, respectively. The final goal of the study was grain Fe enrichment, and it was found that the highest grain Fe contents were also recorded in tartaric along with Fe + compost application which were 140% and 131.65% over control treatment, respectively. These findings suggest that integrating tartaric acid with Fe + compost is a promising agronomic strategy to improve maize productivity as well as nutritional quality. This dual‐benefit approach addresses the twin challenges of food security and hidden hunger. It is recommended that this combination be considered for scaling up in sustainable maize production systems targeting iron enrichment. Multi‐locational future research is recommended to make the conclusion stronger and viable for multiple areas.