Summary
This field trial used stable isotope labelling (77Se) to track the fate of a realistic selenium biofortification application (10 g ha−1) in winter wheat on three contrasting UK soils over two seasons. The study found that whilst topsoil retained 15–31% of applied selenium at harvest, the retained selenium became fixed and exhibited negligible bioavailability for subsequent crop uptake, suggesting that soil accumulation from prolonged biofortification would require approximately 500 years to double baseline soil selenium content. The authors noted that reincorporation of cereal straw could provide residual selenium for following crops, contingent on timing and management practices.
UK applicability
The findings are directly applicable to UK farming conditions, having been conducted on University of Nottingham farm across three contrasting British soils. The results inform realistic expectations for selenium biofortification programmes in UK cereal production, indicating that repeated annual applications would result in soil accumulation with limited mobilisation to crops.
Key measures
Proportion of applied 77Se retained in topsoil (15–31%) and subsoil (2–4%) at harvest; losses of applied Se (37–43%); fixed Se in soil measured by ICP-MS; uptake by following crop; time to double soil Se content; potential contribution from straw reincorporation
Outcomes reported
The study quantified retention of applied selenium (77Se isotope tracer, 10 g ha−1) in soil and wheat over two growing seasons across three contrasting soils, and assessed the bioavailability and mobility of retained soil selenium for subsequent crop uptake.
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