A decade of improving nutritional quality of horticultural crops agronomically (2012−2022): A systematic literature review

The ultimate goal of world crop production is to produce more with less to meet the growing population demands. However, concentrating solely on increased quantity of production often impacts the quality of produce. Consumption of crops or foods that do not meet nutritional or dietary needs can lead to malnutrition. Malnutrition and undernutrition are prevalent in a significant portion of the population. Agronomic biofortification of minerals and vitamins in horticultural crops has emerged as a promising approach to address nutrient deficiencies and enhance the nutritional quality of food. Despite numerous research papers on plant nutrient biofortification, there remains a lack of systematic reviews that comprehensively summarize the latest knowledge on this topic. Herein we discuss different agronomic ways to biofortify several horticultural crops over the past decade. This systematic review aims to fill this gap by presenting various methodologies and comparing the outcomes of these methods in respect to nutrient content in plant parts. The review focuses on original research papers collected from various scientific databases including Scopus and Web of Knowledge, covering the most recent literature from the last ten years (2012–2022) for specific studies on the agronomic biofortification macronutrients, micronutrients, and vitamins in horticultural plants with exclusion of certain criteria such as ‘genetic,’ ‘breeding,’ and ‘agronomic crops.’ This review critically analyzes the current state of research and explores prospects for the future in this field. The biofortification of various minerals and vitamins, including calcium, selenium, iodine, B vitamins, vitamin A, and vitamin C, are examined, highlighting the achievements and limitations of existing studies. In conclusion, agronomic biofortification of minerals and vitamins in horticultural crops with further research offers a promising approach to address nutrient deficiencies and improve the nutritional quality of food.