Quality of the ryegrass and lettuce yields as affected by selenium fertilization

Authors

• Helinä Hartikainen Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology, PO Box 27, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki
• Päivi Ekholm Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology, PO Box 27, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
• Vieno Piironen Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology, PO Box 27, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
• Tailin Xue Institute of Geography of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
• Terhi Koivu Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology, PO Box 27, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
• Markku Yli-Halla Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology, PO Box 27, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23986/afsci.72801

Abstract

The effect of Se-fertilization on the chemical composition and anti-oxidative properties of ryegrass and lettuce was studied in a pot experiment. The addition of Se enhanced its relative incorporation in soluble and insoluble proteins and diminished it in free amino acids. It also affected the anti-oxidative systems of the plants. The glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity found in both plant species increased with increasing Se-fertilization, whereas the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity as well as the concentration of vitamin E decreased. This may indicate that the synthesis of SOD and vitamin E was reduced because the requirement of these anti-oxidants was diminished by antioxidative function of Se.