FOLIA BIOLOGICA ET GEOLOGICA 61/1, 69–74, LJUBLJANA 2020 ADDITION OF TRACE ELEMENTS TO COMMON AND TARTARY BUCKWHEAT ( FAGOPYRUM ESCULENTUM AND F. TATARICUM) DODAJANJE ELEMENTOV V SLEDOVIH NAVADNI IN TATARSKI AJDI (FAGOPYRUM ESCULENTUM IN F. TATARICUM) Mateja GERM 1 , Nina KACJAN MARŠIĆ 1 , Helena ŠIRCELJ 1 , Ana KROFLIČ 2 , Ana JERŠE 2 , Vekoslava STIBILJ 2 , Drena GADŽO 3 , Cheol-Ho PARK 4 & Aleksandra GOLOB 1 http://dx.doi.org/10.3986/fbg0069 ABSTRACT Addition of trace elements to Fagopyrum esculentum and F. tataricum Plants need at least 14 elements for normal functioning. Selenium (Se) is on the list of beneficial elements for plants, since it has many positive effects in a propriate concentra- tions. Iodine (I) is not yet classified on that list since there are not enough studies about the effect of I on plants. Sele- nium in plants may cause a delay of senescence and promote the growth of the ageing seedlings. Selenium also exhibits protective role in UV treated plants, plants, exposed to water shortage, and in plants, exposed to high or low temperature. High concentration of Se was reported to cause physiologi- cal disturbances in plants due to Se binding to cysteine and methionine molecules instead of S, and the inclusion of sele- nocysteine and selenomethionine in proteins. I might have a positive effect on plants, including its protective role in anti- oxidant activities in plants, exposed to different stress con- ditions. Both elements are in deficit in human nutrition in many countries worldwide. I and Se are needed for the opti- mal function of thyroid gland, thus simultaneous biofortifi- cation of crops is feasible for areas deficient in both elements. Selenium and I interfere with each other in pea, common buckwheat plants and in kohlrabi. Sulphur (S) and Se have similar chemical properties, and the assimilation of Se and S follows the S metabolic pathway. S induced the accumula- tion of Se in Tartary buckwheat in field experiment. Silicon (Si) enhances plant strength, ameliorates the negative effects of salinity, drought, and high or low temperatures, amelio- IZVLEČEK Dodajanje elementov v sledovih navadni in tatarski ajdi (Fagopyrum esculentum in F. tataricum) Rastline potrebujejo vsaj 14 elementov za normalno rast. Selen (Se) je na seznamu koristnih elementov za rast- line, saj ima v ustreznih koncentracijah veliko pozitivnih učinkov na rastline. Jod (I) na ta seznam še ni uvrščen, saj ni dovolj raziskav o vplivu I na rastline. Selen pri rastlinah lahko zakasni proces staranja in pospeši rast sadik. Selen kaže tudi zaščitno vlogo pri rastlinah, izpostavljenih UV žarkom, rastlinah, ki so izpostavljene pomanjkanju vode, in rastlinah, ki so izpostavljene visokim ali nizkim temperatu- ram. Raziskovalci poročajo, da visoke koncentracije Se povzročajo fiziološke motnje v rastlinah zaradi vezave Se na molekule cisteina in metionina na mesto žvepla in vključitve selenocisteina in selenomethionina v beljakovine. Jod pozi- tivno vpliva na rastline, vključno s povečanjen njihove an- tioksidativne aktivnosti pri rastlinah, ki so izpostavljene različnim stresnim razmeram. V mnogih državah po svetu oba elementa primanjkujeta v prehrani ljudi. Jod in Se potre- bujemo za optimalno delovanje ščitnice, zato je sočasna bio- fortifikacija poljščin smiselna na območjih s pomanjkanjem obeh elementov. Dodatek Se in I vplivata na akumulacijo drug drugega pri grahu, navadni ajdi in pri kolerabici. Žveplo (S) in Se imata podobne kemijske lastnosti, asimi- lacija Se in S pa sledi metabolni poti S. Žveplo je v poljskem poskusu, kjer smo rastlinam foliarno dodajali hkrati oba el- ementa, povzročilo povečano kopičenje Se v tatarski ajdi. Silicij (Si) povečuje trdnost rastlin, blaži negativne učinke 1 University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Jamnikarjeva 101, Ljubljana, Slovenia, mateja.germ@bf.uni-lj.si, nina.kacjan. marsic@bf.uni-lj.si, helena.sircelj@bf.uni-lj.si, golob.aleksandra@bf.uni-lj.si 2 Department of Environmental Sciences, “Jožef Stefan” Institute, Ljubljana, Jamova c. 39, Ljubljana, Slovenia, ana.kroflic@gmail. com, ana.jerse@gmail.com, vekoslava.stibilj@gmail.com 3 Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science, University of Sarajevo, Zmaja od Bosne 8, Bosnia and Herzegovina, d.gadzo@ppf. unsa.ba, 4 Department of Bio-Health Technology, College of Biomedical Science, Kangwon National University, Chunchon, Korea, chpark@kangwon.ac.kr