Bioaccumulation of iron, selenium, nitrate, and proteins in chard shoots

Abstract

The present research was aimed at the foliar biofortification of chard plants with iron and selenium and at determining the influence of this treatment on the accumulation of these elements, as well as proteins and nitrate, in the aerial portion (shoot) of chard. A 32 factorial experiment was conducted for the above purpose, and the study factors were the foliar applications of Fe (0, 2500 and 5000 mg L-1) and Se (0, 10 and 20 mg L-1). The foliar applications were performed every 15 days for a total of four spray applications. The variables evaluated were the accumulations of Fe, Se, proteins, and nitrate in the shoot. Two samples were collected after performing the second and fourth foliar spray applications. The results indicate that increasing application concentrations of Fe and Se promote greater foliar accumulations of these elements. Foliar applications of Se did not affect the accumulation of nitrate; however, a greater foliar accumulation of Se produced a greater accumulation of proteins. On the other hand, after only four foliar spray applications of Fe at a dose of 5000 mg L-1, there was a statistically significant accumulation of nitrate, which had a positive correlation with the lower accumulation of proteins.