Selenium (Se) is an important micronutrient which is essential for most living organisms and occurs in both organic and inorganic forms in the water system, soils, biomass, and the atmosphere. In addition to being essential for humans and animals, Se is beneficial for plants and is mostly involved in antioxidant activity/response, as well as a growth promoter. Se deficiency in the diet is a global problem, and Se levels in soils generally reflect its presence in food and, thus, availability to humans. Se participates in the antioxidant response mechanisms of the organism, heavy-metal detoxification, and regulation of the reproductive and immune system, as well as ensures the proper function of the thyroid gland. Plants are the main dietary source of Se for humans. Biofortification is a key strategy to increase Se in edible parts of plants. Agronomic biofortification provides an effective route to increase Se content in edible crop products via application of Se-enriched fertilizers to soil or by foliar application. The most common cereals in the human diet are wheat, rice, maize, and barley, making them the most suitable targets for agronomic biofortification. This review focuses on summarizing the most efficient form and method of Se application via agronomic biofortification corroborated by a meta-analysis of the literature reports. In the assessed literature, foliar application showed better results compared to application in soil. The selenate form appears to be the more efficient form of Se for biofortification than selenite in the most common cereals in human diet: wheat, rice, maize, and barley.

Begonia (Begonia semperflorens Link et Otto) belongs to a group of annual plants that are commonly grown in city parks, mainly due to their wide colour options and adaptability to grow either in full sun or semi-shade. Good quality of begonia transplants for early planting outdoors can sometimes be hard to achieve, due to unfavourable conditions early in the season, such as low temperatures leading to insufficient nutrient uptake and plant growth. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of biostimulants for improving the conditions for raising transplants for early outdoor planting. The experiments were conducted in a non-heated glasshouse and were set up as a split plot design with treated and untreated plants in 2009, 2010 and 2011. In each year, the treatment with biostimulant Radifarm®, in a concentration of 0.25% (Valagro SpA, Italy) was applied weekly for two months, while control plants were treated with water. At the end of experiment, the following parameters were recorded: fresh and dry weights of roots and above-ground plant parts, plant height, numbers of leaves and flowers as well as concentrations of total N, P, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ and free proline in roots and above-ground parts. Plants treated with biostimulant had significantly higher values for all morphological parameters investigated. At the same time, higher concentrations of K⁺ were recorded in begonia roots, while significantly higher concentrations of total N, K⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ were recorded in above-ground parts of biostimulant-treated plants. Biostimulant application affected proline accumulation positively.