ABSTRACT
The world population is increasing continuously, and it is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050. The need is to produce a sufficient quantity of nutrient-enriched food to feed the growing population. However, a number of abiotic stresses like heavy metals, salinity and drought affect the production of desired quantity of food and the quality of produce. Biofortification is a strategy for enriching food crops with nutrients. This can be achieved sustainably by providing nutrients in the form of fertilizers. The biofortification of crops not only adds value to crop produce but also enhances abiotic stress tolerance in plants. The supply of beneficial elements like selenium (Se) and silica (Si) has been found to impart tolerance against heavy metals through competitive reduction of toxic metal uptake. Similarly, the nutrition provided in terms of essential elements like zinc (Zn), iron (Fe) and calcium (Ca) was also found to impart tolerance against abiotic stresses by enhancing antioxidant potential and photosynthetic efficiency. This chapter reviews the role of biofortification of food crops in stress management and in enhancing crop productivity and quality in stressed environment.
