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Selenium biofortification of high-yielding winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) by liquid or granular Se fertilisation

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Abstract

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for humans and livestock. In the UK, human Se intake and status has declined since the 1980s. This is primarily due to the increased use of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown in UK soils which are naturally low in Se. The aim of this study was to determine the potential for increasing grain Se concentration in a high-yielding UK wheat crop using fertilisers. The crop response of winter-wheat to Se fertilisation was determined under standard field conditions in two consecutive years at up to 10 sites. Selenium fertilisers were applied as high-volume drenches of sodium selenate solution, or as granular Se-containing products. Yield and harvest index were unaffected by Se fertilisation. Under all treatments, grain Se concentration increased by 16–26 ng Se g−1 fresh weight (FW) per gram Se ha−1 applied. An application of 10 g Se ha−1 would thereby increase the Se concentration of most UK wheat grain 10-fold from current ambient levels and agronomic biofortification of UK-grown wheat is feasible. Total recovery (grain and straw) of applied Se was 20–35%. The fate of Se in the food-chain and in the soil must be determined in order to optimize the efficiency of this process.

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Acknowledgements

The work was conducted under the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Sustainable Arable LINK Programme (LK0974; 2005–2009). The study was funded 50% by Defra and 50% by industry. Project participants from all industry partners are named as co-authors. The academic partners (from UoN, RRes, SCRI, IFR, UEA) have no personal financial interests in any of the companies involved in funding this study. Rothamsted Research is an institute of the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD, UK

    Martin R. Broadley, John Alcock, Mark C. Meacham, Matthew Tovey & Scott D. Young

  2. Velcourt R&D, The Stables, Red House Farm, Woodwalton, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE28 5YL, UK

    James Alford, Paul Cartwright & Keith Norman

  3. Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, UK

    Steve P. McGrath, Jacqueline L. Stroud & Fang-Jie Zhao

  4. Limagrain UK Ltd, Woolpit Business Park, Windmill Avenue, Woolpit, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP30 0RA, UK

    Ian Foot

  5. School of Medicine, Health Policy and Practice, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK

    Susan J. Fairweather-Tait & Rachel Hurst

  6. Institute of Food Research, Norwich Research Park, Colney, Norwich, NR4 7UA, UK

    David J. Hart

  7. Marks and Spencer plc, Waterside House, 35 North Wharf Road, London, W2 1NW, UK

    Peter Knott & Hugh Mowat

  8. Carr’s Fertilisers, Old Croft, Stanwix, Carlisle, CA3 9BA, UK

    Peter Scott

  9. Yara (UK) Ltd, Immingham Docks, NE Lincolnshire, DN40 2NS, UK

    Mark Tucker

  10. Scottish Crop Research Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee, DD2 5DA, UK

    Philip J. White

Authors
  1. Martin R. Broadley
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  2. John Alcock
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  3. James Alford
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  4. Paul Cartwright
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  5. Ian Foot
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  6. Susan J. Fairweather-Tait
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  7. David J. Hart
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  8. Rachel Hurst
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  9. Peter Knott
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  10. Steve P. McGrath
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  11. Mark C. Meacham
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  12. Keith Norman
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  13. Hugh Mowat
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  14. Peter Scott
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  15. Jacqueline L. Stroud
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  16. Matthew Tovey
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  17. Mark Tucker
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  18. Philip J. White
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  19. Scott D. Young
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  20. Fang-Jie Zhao
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Correspondence to Martin R. Broadley.

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Responsible Editor: Peter Christie.

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Broadley, M.R., Alcock, J., Alford, J. et al. Selenium biofortification of high-yielding winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) by liquid or granular Se fertilisation. Plant Soil 332, 5–18 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-0234-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-0234-4

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