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Selenium Uptake by Some Agricultural Crops from Central California Soils

Institute of Soil Science, Academia Sinica, P.O. Box 821, Nanjing, Peoples Republic of China;
F242 NFDC, Tennessee Valley Authority, Muscle Shoals, AL 35660;
Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521.

^* Corresponding author.

ABSTRACT

Greenhouse experiments were conducted to study Se uptake and partitioning by crops grown in five California soils of differing physical and chemical properties. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), beet (Beta vulgaris L.), and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) were grown in soil to which 0, 0.5, and 1.5 mg Se(VI) kg^–1 was added. Alfalfa was also grown in four additional soils to which 0, 0.5, 1.5, and 3.0 mg Se(VI) kg^–1 had been added. Plants were grown to maturity, separated into plant parts, and analyzed for yield and tissue Se. For the barley, beet, and tomato, the edible portion of the plant contained much less total Se than the generally inedible plant parts. The presence of soluble SO^2–₄ in the soil was the major soil factor in determining Se accumulation by plants. Alfalfa grown in low-SO^2–₄ soil accumulated Se to a concentration 10 to 20 times greater (> 1000 mg Se kg^–1) than plants growing in high-SO^2–₄ soil (< 100 mg Se kg^–1). When exposed to Se(VI) in the root zone, all plants tested were capable of accumulating Se to concentrations potentially harmful to animals.

Key Words: Selenate • Se toxicity • Se partitioning • Medicago sativa L. • Hordeum vulgare L. • Beta vulgaris L. • Lycopersicon esculentum Mill

Contribution from the Dep. of Soil and Environmental Sciences, Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521.

Received for publication March 2, 1987.