EDXRF for screening micronutrients in lentil and sorghum biofortification breeding programs

Abstract

Background and aims: This study explores the use of energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) for screening micronutrient concentrations in lentil and sorghum grain for biofortification breeding programs. Methods: Lentil and sorghum seed was provided from biofortification breeding programs and analysed with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to determine the reference concentration levels of Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn. A subset of these samples was used to establish the EDXRF calibration and another subset used for validation of the method. Results: The results show the EDXRF analyses of the lentil and sorghum are not significantly different to the reference ICP-MS for all elements analysed, except for Mn with %RSD of replicate analysis < 5 % for lentil analysis and < 10 % for sorghum. Conclusions: EDXRF analysis enables rapid and accurate analysis of Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn in lentil and sorghum.