ABSTRACT
Agronomic biofortification can increase selenium (Se) concentration in crops and hence dietary intake of Se (Broadley et al. 2010, Eurola, 2005, Lyons et al. 2005). However, more information on the fate and transformation of Se added to the soil-plant system is required (Keskinen et al. 2009, Keskinen et al. 2010) to maximize the efficiency of Se use in biofortification programs (Keskinen et al. 2010). Current understanding suggests that Se recovery by crops is inefficient, and applied Se is likely to be rapidly leached as soluble selenate, adsorbed as selenite, or immobilized into organic forms. Chilimba et al. (2012a,b) reported Se recovery of 6.5% at Chitedze research station and 10.8% at Mbawa research station, which seemed to indicate that Se recovery could vary with soil types. This paper is aimed at establishing whether Se uptake and recovery is influenced by soil type.
