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ARS Home » Plains Area » Grand Forks, North Dakota » Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center » Dietary Prevention of Obesity-related Disease Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #309550
Title: Will selenium increase lentil (Lens culinaris Medik) yield and seed quality?

Author
item THAVARAJAH, DIL - Clemson University
item THAVARAJAH, PUSHPARAJAH - North Dakota State University
item VIALL, ERIC - North Dakota State University
item GEBHARDT, MARY - North Dakota State University
item Lacher, Craig
item AGRAWAL, SHIV - International Center For Agricultural Research In The Dry Areas (ICARDA)
item Combs, Gerald

Submitted to: Frontiers in Plant Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/5/2015
Publication Date: 5/19/2015
Publication URL: https://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/61452
Citation: Thavarajah, D., Thavarajah, P., Viall, E., Gebhardt, M., Lacher, C.P., Agrawal, S.K., Combs, G.F. 2015. Will selenium increase lentil (Lens culinaris Medik) yield and seed quality?. Frontiers in Plant Science. 6:356.

Interpretive Summary: Lentils are a nutritious food; but its availability in Asia has been declining due to lower yields on marginal soils. We conducted this study to determine whether fertilization with selenium can increase lentil yield, productivity and/or seed quality. We used five lentil cultivars and provided various amounts of selenium in the form of either selenate or selenite by foliar or soil application. We found that both forms of selenium and both application routes methods increased seed selenium levels, but that compared to soil application foliar application of selenium increased lentil biomass by 32%, grain yield by 42% and seed selenium concentration by 300%. We also found that the high yielding CDC Redberry cultivar had the highest levels of biomass and grain yield of all varieties evaluated but that the Eston, ILL505 and CDC Robin cultivars had the greatest responses to selenium-fertilization. This study shows that selenium may limit lentil productivity on low-Se soils.

Technical Abstract: Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik), a nutritious traditional pulse crop, has been experiencing a declining availability in Asia, due to lower yields and marginal soils. The objective of this study was to determine whether selenium (Se) fertilization can increase lentil yield, productivity, and seed quality. Selenium was provided to five cultivars as selenate or selenite by foliar or soil application at rates of 0, 10, 20, or 30 kg Se/ha and the resulting lentil biomass, grain yield, and seed Se concentration was determined. Foliar application of Se significantly increased lentil biomass (5586 vs. 7361 kg/ha), grain yield (1732 vs. 2468 kg /ha), and seed Se concentrations (0.8 vs. 2.4 µg/g) compared to soil application. In general, both application methods and both forms of Se increased concentrations of organic Se forms in lentil seeds. Not surprisingly, the high yielding CDC Redberry had the highest levels of biomass and grain yield of all varieties evaluated. Eston, ILL505, and CDC Robin had the greatest responses to Se fertilization with respect to both grain yield and seed Se concentration; thus, use of these varieties in areas with low-Se soils might require Se fertilization to reach yield potentials.