Impact of sodium selenate foliar application under water stress conditions on yield, quality, and mineral composition in strawberry cultivation

ABSTRACT This study investigated the effects of sodium selenate (Se) application on the yield and quality parameters of strawberry plants under different water deficit conditions. The research was conducted in greenhouses at Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University during the 2023 growing season and employed a split‐plot design with three replications. Irrigation treatments (100% (I 100 ) and 50% (I 50 ) of Class A pan evaporation) were assigned to main plots, while sodium selenate doses (0, 2, and 4 ppm as foliar‐applied) subplots. In this study, strawberry plant shape, fresh fruit yield, fruit weight, fruit per plant, total phenolic and flavonoid concentrations, relative water content and mineral content were investigated. The results indicated that Se application mitigated the adverse effects of water stress, enhancing plant morphology and relative water content. Fresh fruit yield ranged from 43.91 to 86.70 g per plant, with the highest yield from I 100 ×Se 4 and the lowest from I 50 ×Se 4 . The highest total phenolic and flavonoid contents were found as 271.44 mg QE g‐1 and 64.62 mg QE g‐1, respectively, from the I 100 ×Se 2 . Selenium application increased mineral content under both irrigation levels. Overall, Se supplementation under limited irrigation (I 50 ) alleviated water stress‐related negative effects, suggesting its potential for improving strawberry resilience to drought.