Effects of soil application of selenium on pasture composition

✍ Scribed by David L Rimmer; Robert S Shiel; J Keith Syers; Maurice Wilkinson

• Book ID: 102436082
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1990
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 223 KB
• Volume: 51
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-5142
• DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.2740510312

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Selenium (Se) was applied at two rates (10 and 20 g Se ha^−1^) to a Se‐deficient pasture and herbage samples were analysed ji‐om six harvests taken over a period of 12 months. Both treatments rapidly raised the Se content of the herbage above the critical value for prevention of dejciency in livestock (30 μg Se kg^−1^ DM), but without approaching the dangerously high values which might cause toxicity. The herbage Se content declined rapidly after the first harvest with a half‐life of approximately 10 weeks; but even so the herbage treated at the higher rate remained above the critical value for at least nine months. The results indicate that soil application of Se is a realistic option in the treatment of Se‐deficient pastures.