Summary
This field trial used enriched stable selenium isotope (⁷⁷Se) labelling to track the fate of a realistic biofortification application (10 g ha⁻¹) in winter wheat across three contrasting UK soils over two seasons. Whilst topsoil retained 15–31% of applied selenium at harvest, the retained selenium became fixed with negligible bioavailability for subsequent crops, requiring approximately 500 years of repeated annual biofortification to double soil selenium content. The findings suggest that straw reincorporation could provide residual selenium availability for following crops, conditional on management timing.
UK applicability
This research was conducted on UK soils and winter wheat under UK field conditions, making the findings directly applicable to biofortification practice and soil selenium dynamics in the United Kingdom. The results have implications for designing realistic biofortification strategies and managing soil selenium accumulation in arable systems under UK climate and soil conditions.
Key measures
Proportion of applied ⁷⁷Se retained in topsoil (c. 15–31%) and subsoil (2–4%) at harvest; selenium losses (37–43%); fixed ⁷⁷Se in soil measured the following spring and at second harvest; uptake by following crop; time to double soil selenium content (~500 years); assay by ICP-MS
Outcomes reported
The study quantified retention of a single realistic selenium biofortification application (10 g ha⁻¹) in three contrasting UK soils over two growing seasons using stable isotope (⁷⁷Se) labelling to discriminate applied selenium from native soil selenium. It measured selenium distribution across soil horizons and crop fractions, and assessed bioavailability of retained selenium to a following crop.
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