Selenium Biofortification in Agronomic Crops

Selenium (Se) is the most significant micronutrient, which is necessary for living organisms including plants, animals as well as in humans and is present in organic and inorganic forms in biomass, plants, water, and atmospheric air. The Se is beneficial to plants and mostly involved in antioxidant activity and acts as growth promoter. Amount of Se present in soils typically show its occurrence in food stuff and, as a result indicates its availability to humans. Se deficiency is a worldwide issue. Selenium plays a role in the mechanisms of response of antioxidant in organisms, detoxifies heavy metals, controls the immune as well as reproductive system, and ensures the thyroid gland's appropriate function. In humans, plants are the primary source of Se in their diets. Biofortification is an important method for increasing Se in edible plant parts. Agronomic biofortification makes it possible to increase the amount of Se in edible crop products through the application of Se-enriched fertilizers to the soil or to the leaves, Wheat, barley, maize, and rice are the cereals that humans consume the most. So, making them ideal targets for agronomic biofortification is a useful strategy. The goal of this review is to summarize the most effective form and method of applying Se through the agronomic biofortification method, supported by a huge analysis of the reports and the literatures. In the literature, foliar application performed better than soil application. In the most common cereals such as barley, maize, rice, and wheat consumed by humans, selenate appears to be the more effective form of Se for biofortification than selenite.