Selenium Uptake by Selected Vegetable Species After Fortification of the Growing Substrate

The level of selenium in the human body depends on its concentration in food. Selenium enters the food chain primarily from soils, its content in plants is a function of the soil–plant system conditions. Analysis of selenium status suggests that fortification of the soil substrate with sodium selenate appears to be effective and undemanding form of selenium enrichment, which means that only with the help of vegetables it would be possible to cover the year-round need. In this part of the monograph, the results of solving the problem of selenium supplementation in selected vegetable species in model vegetation experiments by the method of fortification of soil substrate with sodium selenate are presented. Vegetable species such as garden peas, onions, white cabbage, and tomatoes were selected. In field experiments, soil fortification with selenium on cabbage and tomatoes was carried out. The results showed a significant increase in selenium content in the edible parts of the vegetables monitored. Due to the risk of phytotoxicity and the consideration that selenization of soils may after several years in certain circumstances gradually lead to the accumulation of added and not used selenium, our results showed that the optimal dose for soil fertilization with selenium for vegetable to be from 1 to 2 mg Se m−2 (for garden peas, cabbage, onions).