Agronomic biofortification and yield improvement in summer mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) through foliar application of zinc, iron, and nitrogen fertilizers

Globally, half of the world’s population is considered at risk of insufficient zinc intake, whereas around 40% of preschool children and approximately one in every two pregnant women in developing countries are affected by iron deficiency.Increasing the level of essential micronutrients like zinc and iron in edible grains could, however, help overcome such deficiencies and consequentovercome malnutrition. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of foliar application of ZnSO 4 , FeSO 4 and urea on the zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) biofortification of summer mungbean. In the experiment, various combinations of ZnSO 4 .7H 2 O (0.5%), FeSO 4 .7H 2 O (0.5%) and urea (2%) were applied during the flowering and pod formation stages to the summer mungbean crop variety SML 1827 in the years 2024 and 2025. The results indicated that foliar application of urea (2%) + ZnSO 4 .7H 2 O (0.5%) + FeSO 4 .7H 2 O (0.5%) at the initiation of flowering and pod formation stagesresulted in significantly higher seed yield (1083 and 1126 kg ha − 1 ), net returns, benefit cost ratio, plant nutrient content, zinc (45.4 and 46.9 mg kg − 1 ) and iron concentration in mungbean seed (163.4 and 167.1 mg kg − 1 ) than control during both the years, respectively. Overall, seed yield increased by 17.8% and 19.8% over the control in the respective years.Based on these results, it can be concluded that foliar application of urea (2%) combined with ZnSO 4 .7H 2 O (0.5%) and FeSO 4 .7H 2 O (0.5%) at the flowering and pod formation stages is an effective approach to boost seed yield and improve seed zinc and iron accumulation in summer mungbean.