ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Nutrition
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1589810
Impact of soil application with selenite and selenate on 'soil-highland barley-dietary' system in Tibet
Provisionally accepted
- 1Research Center of Agricultural Economy, College of Economics, Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Yibin, China
- 2Key Laboratory of Alpine Vegetation Ecological Security in Tibet, Institute of Tibet Plateau Ecology, Tibet Agricultural and Animal Husbandry University,, Nyingchi, China
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Introduction: Selenium (Se)-fortified foods have demonstrated efficacy in augmenting dietary Se intake and ameliorating human Se nutritional status. To mitigate Se deficiency-related health risks in Tibetan populations, systematic biofortification trials targeting highland barley, the primary staple crop in Tibet, are imperative.Methods: Highland barley was subjected to soil-applied selenate (SeⅥ) and selenite (SeⅣ) at seven rates (0, 5, 15, 25, 50, 75, and 100 g•ha -1 ), followed by comprehensive evaluation of Se transfer dynamics within the soil-crop-diet continuum across Tibet's agricultural regions.Results and discussion: Exogenous Se application significantly increased the Se content in highland barley grains (p < 0.05), with SeⅥ proving to be more effective than SeⅣ.Selenomethionine (SeMet) accounted for 78-85% of total Se species in grains, and SeⅣ applications yielding 1.7 times higher organic Se conversion rates compared to SeⅥ treatments.Se application not only elevated the total Se concentration but also concurrently increased the bioavailable Se fractions in the soil, thereby enhancing Se translocation within the plant. Dietary exposure assessment indicated that application rates of 75 g•ha -1 SeⅣ and 50 g•ha -1 SeⅥ were optimal, as they satisfied the recommended daily intake (55 μg•day -1 ) for Tibetan adults while keeping soil Se below 3.0 mg•kg -1 . This study demonstrated that soil application of 75 g•ha -1 SeⅣ or 50 g•ha -1 SeⅣ achieved effective biofortification without ecological risk, providing a sustainable solution for mitigating Se deficiency in Tibetan agroecosystems.
Keywords: Highland barley, Se spices, soil Se fraction, Se intake, biofortification
Received: 08 Mar 2025; Accepted: 30 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhou, Duan and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Chenni Zhou, Research Center of Agricultural Economy, College of Economics, Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Yibin, China
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