Biomass, Physiological, and Antioxidant Activity Responses of Wheat Plants After Selenium Foliar Spray Under Water Deficit

Rocha, Luís; Silva, Ermelinda; Gonçalves, Alexandre; Brito, Cátia; Ferreira, Helena; Matos, Carlos; Malheiro, Aureliano C.; Araújo, Susana; Lima-Brito, José; Moutinho-Pereira, José

doi:10.3390/agriculture15101086

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Open AccessArticle

Biomass, Physiological, and Antioxidant Activity Responses of Wheat Plants After Selenium Foliar Spray Under Water Deficit

by

Luís Rocha

^1,2,*

,

Ermelinda Silva

^2,3

,

Alexandre Gonçalves

^2,3

,

Cátia Brito

^1,4

,

Helena Ferreira

¹,

Carlos Matos

⁵,

Aureliano C. Malheiro

¹

,

Susana Araújo

^2,3

,

José Lima-Brito

^1,4,6

and

José Moutinho-Pereira

^1,4

¹

Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences (CITAB), University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal

²

MORE—Laboratório Colaborativo Montanhas de Investigação, Edificio do Brigantia Ecopark, Avª Cidade de Leon, 5300-358 Bragança, Portugal

³

CIMO,- Mountain Research Center, LA SusTEC- Associated Laboratory for Sustainability and Technology in Inland Regions, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal

⁴

Inov4Agro–Institute for Innovation, Capacity Building and Sustainability of Agri-Food Production, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal

⁵

Chemistry Department, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal

⁶

Plant Cytogenomics Laboratory, Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Agriculture 2025, 15(10), 1086; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15101086 (registering DOI)

Submission received: 24 March 2025 / Revised: 6 May 2025 / Accepted: 13 May 2025 / Published: 17 May 2025

(This article belongs to the Section Crop Production)

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Abstract

The ability of selenium (Se) to trigger modifications in plant metabolism, thereby triggering tolerance to abiotic stresses, is well established. This research aimed to understand the following: (1) how Se supplementation in wheat plants can lead to beneficial Se concentrations in grains and straw; (2) whether the applied Se concentrations have any negative impacts on plant performance; and (3) if Se can aid wheat development under water-limited conditions. To address this, we evaluated the physiological, biochemical, and morphological effects of foliar Se application on wheat plants subjected to well-watered (WW, full irrigation) and water-deficit (WD, 25% of full irrigation) regimes. Three foliar concentrations of sodium selenate (Se) solution (0, 16, and 160 g ha⁻¹ Se) were tested. Under WW, treatment with 160 g/ha leads to the highest Se content in straw (4253 ± 171 µg plant⁻¹), enhanced straw biomass accumulation, and increased total soluble sugar content. WW plants treated with 16 g/ha Se were found to have the highest amounts of photosynthetic pigments and total soluble proteins. Under WD, Se treatments increased spike length, total phenols, and ortho-diphenols when compared to Se-untreated plants. In general, Se treatments increased the Se contents in both straw and grains, but with a noticeably higher accumulation in straw. Altogether, the results suggest that foliar application of 160 g/ha Se, under irrigation, is a promissory approach to enhance Se content in bread wheat.

Keywords: antioxidant capacity; cereals; chlorophyll; phenolic composition; spray treatment; selenate; straw accumulation; Triticum aestivum; water irrigation

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MDPI and ACS Style

Rocha, L.; Silva, E.; Gonçalves, A.; Brito, C.; Ferreira, H.; Matos, C.; Malheiro, A.C.; Araújo, S.; Lima-Brito, J.; Moutinho-Pereira, J. Biomass, Physiological, and Antioxidant Activity Responses of Wheat Plants After Selenium Foliar Spray Under Water Deficit. Agriculture 2025, 15, 1086. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15101086

AMA Style

Rocha L, Silva E, Gonçalves A, Brito C, Ferreira H, Matos C, Malheiro AC, Araújo S, Lima-Brito J, Moutinho-Pereira J. Biomass, Physiological, and Antioxidant Activity Responses of Wheat Plants After Selenium Foliar Spray Under Water Deficit. Agriculture. 2025; 15(10):1086. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15101086

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rocha, Luís, Ermelinda Silva, Alexandre Gonçalves, Cátia Brito, Helena Ferreira, Carlos Matos, Aureliano C. Malheiro, Susana Araújo, José Lima-Brito, and José Moutinho-Pereira. 2025. "Biomass, Physiological, and Antioxidant Activity Responses of Wheat Plants After Selenium Foliar Spray Under Water Deficit" Agriculture 15, no. 10: 1086. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15101086

APA Style

Rocha, L., Silva, E., Gonçalves, A., Brito, C., Ferreira, H., Matos, C., Malheiro, A. C., Araújo, S., Lima-Brito, J., & Moutinho-Pereira, J. (2025). Biomass, Physiological, and Antioxidant Activity Responses of Wheat Plants After Selenium Foliar Spray Under Water Deficit. Agriculture, 15(10), 1086. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15101086

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Biomass, Physiological, and Antioxidant Activity Responses of Wheat Plants After Selenium Foliar Spray Under Water Deficit

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