Variability Studies for iron and zinc content on segregating population of rice

More than half of the world's population, especially women and children in the developing countries suffer from micronutrient malnutrition especially deficiency in iron and zinc. Micronutrient malnutrition problems increased the interest of researchers to increase the mineral contents (Fe and Zn) in cereals to ensure adequate attainment of dietary minerals. A lot of variability does exist for micronutrients (Fe, Zn, Vitamin A, etc.) content and bioavailability in many crops including rice. The current study was conducted to assess the variability for iron and zinc content in dehusked rice grains to identify mineral-rich families. This study was conducted with the major objectives of analysis of genetic variability for grain iron and zinc content.