Effect of Se-Enriched Irrigation Water on the Biomass Production and Elemental Composition of Green Bean, Cabbage, Potato and Tomato

Abstract

Additional Selenium (Se) intake may be recommended in areas of Se deficiency to prevent various human diseases. One possibility for this is biofortification. In this experiment, the effect of irrigation water containing 100 and 500 µg L−1 Se, in the form of Na2SeO4, on green bean, cabbage, potato and tomato was investigated in a greenhouse pot experiment with sand, silty sand and silt soils. The chlorophyll content index was usually improved by Se and was significantly higher in potato in sand and silty sand and in tomato in silty sand and silt soils. The Se content of edible plant parts increased 63-fold in the 100 µg L−1 Se treatment and almost 400-fold in the 500 µg L−1 Se treatment, averaged over the four species and the three soils. Irrigation water with a Se content of 100 µg L−1 may be suitable for the production of functional food in the case of green beans, potatoes and tomatoes. However, due to its greater Se accumulation, cabbage should only be irrigated with a lower Se concentration. The use of Se-enriched irrigation water might be a suitable method for Se biofortification without a significant reduction in plant biomass production and without a remarkable modification of other macro- and microelement contents.

Keywords

• irrigation
• biofortification
• selenium
• recommended dietary allowance
• element content