Effects triggered by foliar selenium application on growth, enzyme activities, mineral nutrients and carbohydrates in lettuce under an aquaculture system

María Carmen Piñero; Ginés Otálora; Jacinta Collado-González; Josefa López-Marín; Francisco M Del Amor

doi:10.1016/j.plaphy.2022.03.028

Effects triggered by foliar selenium application on growth, enzyme activities, mineral nutrients and carbohydrates in lettuce under an aquaculture system

Plant Physiol Biochem. 2022 Jun 1:180:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2022.03.028. Epub 2022 Mar 26.

Authors

María Carmen Piñero¹, Ginés Otálora², Jacinta Collado-González², Josefa López-Marín², Francisco M Del Amor²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Crop Production and Agri-Technology, Instituto Murciano de Investigación y Desarrollo Agrario y Medioambiental (IMIDA), C/Mayor s/n, 30150, Murcia, Spain. Electronic address: mariac.pinero2@carm.es.
² Department of Crop Production and Agri-Technology, Instituto Murciano de Investigación y Desarrollo Agrario y Medioambiental (IMIDA), C/Mayor s/n, 30150, Murcia, Spain.

PMID: 35364374
DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2022.03.028

Abstract

Se has beneficial effects on plants, through the stimulation of plant productivity, the reduction of abiotic stresses, and the improvement in N metabolism. Therefore, we investigated the effect of the foliar application of different concentrations of Se (0, 4, 8 and 16 μmol L^-1) on lettuce plants grown in an aquaponics system (fish water) compared with a control (conventional soilless fertigation). The NO₃- concentration supplied by the fish water was 47% of the control solution. The results showed a reduction in the fresh weight of lettuce plants irrigated with the fish water mixture treatment, along with an increase in sugar concentration. However, the application of Se at 4 and 16 μmol L^-1, prompted a relief of this stress, reducing both lipid peroxidation and the sugar content, and increasing the nitrate concentration. In addition, in the case of the highest concentration of Se (16 μmol L^-1), the values of nitrate were comparable those control plants. We show the importance of sprayed Se in increasing the efficiency of N utilization, in addition to lessening environmental issues for aquaponics culture.

Keywords: Antioxidant activity; Lactuca sativa L.; Mineral composition; Nitrate; Nutrition; Sodium selenate; Tilapia.