Variation of some seed mineral contents in open pollinated faba bean (Vicia faba L.) landraces from Turkey

The frst step towards the biofortifcation of edible portions of crop species with improved nutritional value is to understand the genetic diversity available to breeders in germplasm collections. A faba bean germplasm (129 landraces and 4 cultivars) from diverse geographic regions of Turkey was assessed for micro- and macroelement contents of seeds. Te results showed high diversity in open-pollinated faba bean germplasm for contents of N (27.5–93.3 g kg–1), P (1.24–4.89 g kg–1), K (4.5–19.3 g kg –1), Fe (29.7–96.3 mg kg –1 ), Mn (15.5–29.2 mg kg–1), Cu (10.3–33.0 mg kg –1 ), and Zn (10.4–49.3 mg kg–1). Meanwhile, the ranges of mineral elements in the landraces were signifcantly higher than those in the commercial cultivars. Concentrations of these mineral elements were signifcantly and positively correlated with each other. Principal component analysis clearly split the faba bean landraces into 2 groups and the frst 2 principal components accounted around 70.91% of the total variations. Tese fndings indicate a wide range of variations for the investigated minerals in the Turkish gene pool that can provide a good source of diversity to use in faba bean biofortifcation for increased levels of available mineral elements and better yield.The frst step towards the biofortifcation of edible portions of crop species with improved nutritional value is to understand the genetic diversity available to breeders in germplasm collections. A faba bean germplasm (129 landraces and 4 cultivars) from diverse geographic regions of Turkey was assessed for micro- and macroelement contents of seeds. Te results showed high diversity in open-pollinated faba bean germplasm for contents of N (27.5–93.3 g kg–1), P (1.24–4.89 g kg–1), K (4.5–19.3 g kg –1), Fe (29.7–96.3 mg kg –1 ), Mn (15.5–29.2 mg kg–1), Cu (10.3–33.0 mg kg –1 ), and Zn (10.4–49.3 mg kg–1). Meanwhile, the ranges of mineral elements in the landraces were signifcantly higher than those in the commercial cultivars. Concentrations of these mineral elements were signifcantly and positively correlated with each other. Principal component analysis clearly split the faba bean landraces into 2 groups and the frst 2 principal components accounted around 70.91% of the total variations. Tese fndings indicate a wide range of variations for the investigated minerals in the Turkish gene pool that can provide a good source of diversity to use in faba bean biofortifcation for increased levels of available mineral elements and better yield