Xrf machines: innovative technology to help breed nutritious crops

HarvestPlus and its CGIAR crop breeding partners are constantly innovating and embracing new technologies to accelerate and refine the process of breeding nutrient-enriched crops for vulnerable farming communities across the world. One such innovation is the adaptation and promotion of the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) machine, which is commonly used in the mining industry, for high-throughput screening of the mineral content of crops.

The introduction of the XRF into the breeding process has been a game-changer in the development of staple crops that are biofortified with minerals (particularly iron and zinc) to help combat malnutrition.