Agronomic biofortification in rice varieties from the Pantanal mato-grossense

Abstract

Selenium (Se) is recognized as an essential micronutrient for animals and humans, which can contribute to human immunity and prevent some types of diseases. The production of rice enriched with Se can be one of the ways of supplying Se to the human being and, therefore, the understanding of how Se can be absorbed by the roots, transported to the grains and made available there to be used as assimilable food by man is important for food security. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the application of doses of sodium selenate in the biofortification of three rice varieties (Oriza sativa L.), one commercial (cv. Esmeralda) and two from the Pantanal Mato-Grossense (var. Branquinho and Agulhinha Vermelhinho). It was verified that the application of Se at concentrations around 15 g ha-1 increased plant growth, panicle length, shoot and root dry mass production and grain yield for all varieties studied. On the other hand, the Se content in the polished rice grains, for all varieties, increased as the Se rates were supplied via soil. The effects of Se were dependent on the dose applied to the soil and that further studies are still needed regarding agronomic biofortification with Se in these rice varieties.