Abstract:

A greenhouse experiment of Chinese leek was conducted to study the effects of selenium application（selenate and selenite）to soil on Se accumulation in the edible part of the vegetable and its fate in soil. Selenite and selenate were top-applied between sowing and germination. The edible part of Chinese leek would accumulate 0.008–0.128 mg · kg^-1 FW of Se，as affected by selenite of 100，200 and 400 g · hm^-2，and 0.067–0.441 mg · kg^-1 FW of Se for that affected by 100 and 200 g · hm^-2 of selenate. Se content in the edible part of Chinese leek affected by selenite of 200 g · hm^-2 or selenate of 100 g · hm^-2 could meet the standard for Se-enriched food products proposed by Shaanxi Province（0.02–0.1 mg · kg^-1）for a single farming season. The recovery of selenate（the amount of Se accumulated in the vegetable against that added to soil）was about 10% while that of selenite was below 3%. Selenate was more effective in enhancing Se accumulation in Chinese leek than selenite，because selenite was less mobile and could not move as deeply as selenate，which made selenite retained in the surface of soil as selenate could move down and be taken up by the vegetable.

Key words: Chinese leek, Se, selenate, selenite, soil residual