Selenium‐biofortified broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica Plenck) is an important source of micronutrients in a healthy human diet. Therefore, studies are needed on the commercial production of selenium‐enriched broccoli. We analyzed the effect of the foliar application of sodium selenate and sodium selenite in doses of 50 and 100 g ha−1 on the growth, photosynthetic parameters, selenium accumulation, and commercial quality of broccoli in two cultivars (‘Belstar’ and ‘Legend’) used for fresh crops market grown under field conditions. The application of both doses of selenate and the highest dose of selenite induced a significant increase in the head fresh weight (FW) only in cultivar Belstar. However, the dry matter content of the heads was not significantly affected by selenium or the cultivar of broccoli. In addition, the increase in the water use efficiency, mainly due to the reduction of the transpiration rate, could explain the significant increase in the head FW without modifying the head dry matter content in Belstar. On the other hand, selenium treatments before harvest maintained the green color and did not affect the firmness and diameter of the heads at harvest. The selenium content of the heads increased markedly in a dose‐dependent manner in both cultivars, with both selenium treatments. The results of this study indicate that the response to selenium treatments differs between broccoli cultivars and that the use of both selenium salts in foliar form would be a good strategy to obtain selenium‐enriched broccoli, without affecting the commercial quality of the heads.

Aims The objectives of this work were to compare the degree of fit between WinRhizo (WR) and RhizoVision Explorer (RVE), and validated the utility of RVE in biological assays. Methods Seedlings of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. Grand rapid), broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica Plenck H. Belstar) and bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L. H. Floridor) were irrigated with different concentrations of sodium selenate and sodium selenite. Scanned images of the roots were obtained and analyzed with WR and RVE. Results Results showed that mean bias error (MBE) values for total root length and average diameter of roots indicate an overestimation of RVE with respect to WR, while the opposite is true for the number of root tips. In bell pepper, the highest values of the root mean square error (RSME) were observed with respect to the other two crops. Furthermore, there were significant differences (P < .0001) between the values measured by RVE and WR for the 3 crops. For most of the crops and parameters evaluated there was a high linear regression coefficient between the programs. Similarly, linear correlation coefficient was high in all three crops for most of the root diameter classes evaluated. The two programs allowed finding similar significant differences for the selenium treatments. Conclusions RVE allowed to contrast and analyze the biological effect of different types of treatments on the roots.

Broccoli heads (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica Plenck) are one of the most valuable vegetable crops parts due to their high nutritional content. Nevertheless, they are quickly decomposed during postharvest, with the consequent loss of commercial quality. Several postharvest treatments have been analyzed to delay this process, but the influence of preharvest treatments has been little studied. Previously, we have examined the effect of foliar application of sodium selenate and selenite (50 and 100 g ha −1 ) on selenium accumulation and commercial quality of broccoli at harvest time. Here, we analyze the effect of these preharvest treatments on postharvest shelf-life of broccoli grown under field and pot conditions, in "Belstar" and "Legend" cultivars. Examination of the external appearance of the heads, quantified by Hue and L parameters, showed a marked delay in yellowing in treated samples compared to controls. In addition, selenium treatments mostly maintained the firmness and diameter of the heads. Similar results were obtained for both growing conditions and cultivars. Noticeably, the nutritional composition of broccoli heads was maintained or even improved after several foliar treatments with selenium compared with the control ones. Finally, the same analysis was performed in broccoli heads stored at low temperature, also showing different parameters improvement in the selenium-treated groups compared to control. So, we can conclude that foliar selenium treatment, besides being an overcoming strategy to obtain selenium-enriched broccoli, also contributes to improving the quality of heads during postharvest. † Fernando F. Muñoz and Lucas D. Daurelio contributed equally.