Evaluation of Atriplex lines for selenium accumulation, salt tolerance and suitability for a key agricultural insect pest

摘要

Thirty Atriplex lines were examined for potential habitat improvement and phytoremediation of selenium (Se) contaminated sites. Studies were conducted to determine the biomass production, Se accumulation, and resistance of each line to the beet army- worm, Spodoptera exigua, an agriculturally important insect. Plants were tested using three salinity treatments: (1) control, no Se; (2) NaCl and CaCl_2 salts and 1 mg l~-1 Se (12.7 μM) added as sodium selenate; and (3) iso-osmotic to treatment 2 containing high concentrations of sulfate and 1 mg l~-1 Se added as sodium selenate.