Exploring nutrient variation in durum wheat and barley populations for genetic biofortification

Conventional breeding programs have often led to a dilution of grain nutrient concentrations, leaving micronutrient deficiencies unresolved. To address this challenge, two evolutionary plant breeding experiments were carried out involving durum wheat (DW) and barley populations, to identify populations with better genetic biofortification potential at specific test locations. Grain samples from 27 DW populations plus four barley populations at Habru Seftu and 23 DW populations at Debrezeit Agricultural Research Center were analyzed alongside pure-stand check varieties for nutritional composition. Laboratory analyses were conducted at CIHEAM Bari, Italy. The DW populations exhibited wide variation for most nutritional traits across both locations. At Habru Seftu , some populations showed higher concentrations of total dietary fiber (TDF) up to 20.83, iron (Fe) up to 44.44%, and zinc (Zn) up to 30.76% than sole-stand improved varieties, while at DzARC , up to 4.45% higher TDF was recorded in populations over the sole-stand varieties. Populations assisted through participatory farmers’ selection consistently dominated the top-performing groups for key nutrients across locations. Female farmers’ selected populations were particularly superior for the most deficient micronutrients, with Fe- and Zn-rich mixtures outperforming all other entries. Overall, the results highlight dynamic mixtures/evolutionary populations, especially those shaped through participatory and gender-disaggregated selection— can be considered as a promising alternative for enhancing grain nutritional quality and advancing genetic biofortification in durum wheat and barley.