Agronomic biofortification of carrot with selenium

Abstract

The selenium (Se) is essential for human metabolism, but a large part of the world’s population has deficiency in this element. This can be reversed by the consumption of biofortified foods, given that plants can efficiently act in controlling excessive and/or accidental consumption of an element that can occur in humans through the use of dietary supplements. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different application forms and sources of Se in the growth, production, nutrition, physical-chemical characteristics, content and accumulation of Se in carrots. The experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions, using pots containing 4 dm3 of Red-yellow Latosol. A completely randomized design was used in a 2×2×2 factorial scheme (with and without Se application, two sources of Se: selenate and selenite, two forms of application of Se: soil and foliar applications), with five replicates. Foliar application of selenate increased the yield and titratable acidity, reducing root ripening index. Foliar application of selenite increased the content of Se in the shoots and the content of carotenoids in the roots. Both sources of Se (selenate and selenite) and application forms (soil or foliar application) increased their content in the roots. However, the foliar application of selenate was the most effective source and form of application. Therefore, it is possible to increase the contents of Se in the edible part of carrots, favoring the consumption of this element by the population.