Abstract: This study investigated the potential to improve fruit quality of sweet persimmon
（Diospyros kaki）using foliar feeding of selenium. Trees of three cultivars（‘Youhou’，‘Okitsu 20’and
‘Jiro’）were sprayed with Na2SeO3 at five concentrations（0，50，100，150 and 200 mg · L^-1）.
Accumulation of heavy metals including cadmium（Cd），lead（Pb）and mercury（Hg）and fruits quality
attributes were assessed. The results indicated that 150 mg · L-1 Na2SeO3 was considered the optimum
concentration for foliar feeding of Se on sweet persimmon trees. Selenium concentrations in both leaves
and fruit increased as application dosage increased from 0 to 150 mg · L^-1 Na₂SeO₃. On the other hand，
Cd，Pb and Hg concentrations decreased as application dosage increased up to 150 mg · L^-1 Na₂SeO_³. In
the meantime，solublesugar，titratable acid，vitamin C and soluble solids in fruit increased. However，this
trend was reversed when application dosage increased further to 200 mg · L^-1 Na₂SeO₃. Of the three
cultivars used in this study，treatment effects were more pronounced on‘Okitsu 20’compared with the
effects on ‘Youhou’and‘Jiro’. The results indicate that the exogenous application of Se can better the
quality of fruit and reduce the content of metal in the persimmon trees.

Key words: persimmon, selenium, accumulation, leaves, fruit, heavy metal