Table 3.
Biofortification of Se in horticultural crops by foliar application – recent reports.
| Sr. No. | Plant species/part | Se compound applied | Se concentration applied | Mode of application | Physiological effects/ Se biofortification | Fold change (compared to control) | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) |
Na2SeO4 Na2SeO3 |
0, 1 and 2 mM | Foliar spray | - 27.2 µg g-1 DW Se in leaves by 2 mM selenate - 40.4 µg g-1 DW Se by 2 mM selenite application |
100-fold 149-fold |
Buttarelli et al., 2025 |
| 2 | Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) |
Na2SeO4 combined with KI | 1, 2.5 and 5 mg L−1 combined with iodine (1, 2.5 and 5 mg L−1) | Foliar spray | - Maximum improvement in plant yield at 2.5 mg L−1 Se application - 63.5 ng/g Se in response to 5 mg L−1 application |
2.43-fold | Eslamiparvar et al., 2025 |
| 3 | Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) |
Nano-selenium (diameter 65–106 nm) |
0, 30, 50, 100, 150 and 250 mg L-1 | Foliar spray | - Increase in SeMet and SeMeCys concentration - 16 mg kg-1 Se in leaf - 10 mg kg-1 Se in stem - 1.5 mg kg-1 Se in root |
80-fold 50-fold 7.5-fold |
Sun et al., 2025 |
| 4 | Citrus (Citrus reticulata) |
Na2SeO3 | 0, 25, 50, 100 and 200 mg L-1 | Foliar spray | - Fruit weight and quality were improved - 12.26 ng g-1 Se fruit - 115.9 ng g-1 Se in leaf |
3.63-fold 2.05-fold |
Wang et al., 2024 |
| 5 | Onion (Allium cepa L.) | Na2SeO4 | 0, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 200 g ha-1 |
Foliar spray | - Increase in onion yield up to 99 kg ha-1 - 0.706 mg kg-1 Se in bulb |
70.6-fold | Machado et al., 2024 |
| 6 | Chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla) |
2-iminoselenazolidin-4-ones (ISeA) | 0 and 2 mg L-1 | Foliar spray | - Fresh biomass increased - 35.7 mg kg-1 Se in leaves |
36-fold | Semenova et al., 2024 |
| 7 | Komatsuna (Brassica rapa var. perviridis) | 2-iminoselenazolidin-4-ones (ISeA) | 0 and 2 mg L-1 | Foliar spray | - Growth enhancement - 31.1 mg kg-1 Se in leaves |
31-fold | Semenova et al., 2024 |
| 8 | Sweet cherry (Prunus avium) |
Na2SeO4 in combination with CaCl2 | 15 g ha−1 spray−1 (four times application per season) |
Foliar spray | - Leaf Se up to 1.258 mg kg-1 (two-year average) - Fruit Se up to 3.65 µg 100 g-1 FW (two-year average) - Combined application with CaCl2 further enhanced Se biofortification - No leaf or fruit injury by Se application |
29.2-fold 12.1-fold |
Wójcik, 2024 |
| 9 | Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) |
Na2SeO4 | 0 and 25 mg L-1 | Foliar spray | - Seed production was enhanced by 20–41% due to Se application -Prominent biofortification in lettuce up to 50 times - Se treatment in combination with garlic extracts further enhanced Se biofortification |
40–50 folds | Golubkina et al., 2024a |
| 10 | Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) |
Selenate and selenite nanocarriers/Liposomes | 100, 500 and 1000 μM | Foliar spray at 5th and 7th week leaf stage | - The shoot Se concentration of 3.8 µg g-1 and 15 µg g-1 DW after single and double application of 1000 µM/liposome nanocarrier | 7.6-folds after single application 30-folds by twice application |
Viltres-Portales et al., 2024 |
| 11 | Rice (Oryza sativa L.) |
SeNPs and Se (IV) | 0 and 0.5 mg L-1 | Foliar spray at flowering stage | - SeNPs enhanced Se in husk (0.418 µg g-1 DW) & grain (0.462 µg g-1 DW) - Se(IV) enhanced Se in husk (0.627 µg g-1 DW) & grain (0.701µg g-1 DW) |
2.47-fold in husk and 2.73-fold in grain 3.71-fold in husk and 4.14-fold in grain |
Freire et al., 2024 |
| 12 | Soybean (Glycine max) |
Sodium selenate | 0, 15, 40 or 100 g Se ha-1 | Foliar spray at flowering stage | - The Se concentration in seeds was up to 15 mg kg-1 highest treatment - In leaf, the Se was 3.5 mg kg-1 at highest treatment |
150-folds 35-folds |
Mrština et al., 2024 |
| 13 | Basil (Ocimum basilicum) | Sodium selenate |
0 and 5 μM | Foliar spray | - The leaf Se was 30.2 mg kg-1 DW | 36.4-folds | Profico et al., 2025 |
| 14 | Mint (Mentha spp.) |
Sodium selenate |
0 and 5 μM | Foliar spray | - The leaf Se was 27.6 mg kg-1 DW | 29.3-folds | Profico et al., 2025 |
| 15 | Maize (Zea mays L.) |
ZnSO4·7H2O, FeSO4·7H2O and Na2SeO3 cocktail | 0 and 2000 ppm | Foliar spray | - Enhancement in the Se in shoot (683.9 µg kg-1), straw (1016.0 µg kg-1) and grain (413.4 µg kg-1) | 13.1-fold (shoot) 11.0-fold (straw) 19.4-fold (grain) |
Xue et al., 2023 |