Enhancing potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) resilience: The role of selenium in modulating growth, antioxidant capacity, and tuber quality under salinity stress

Salt stress significantly reduces potato yield by affecting plant growth, physiology, and tuber quality. However, selenium is a beneficial micronutrient that can mitigate salt-induced damage. This study explores the effects of sodium selenite on potato performance under varying salinity levels. A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of exogenous sodium selenite (S 0 : 0, S 1 : 10, S 2 : 20, and S 3 : 30 mg L −1 ) on potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) grown under varying salinity levels (SL 0 : 0, SL 1 : 3, and SL 2 : 6 g kg −1 NaCl). The results revealed that salt stress significantly reduced the growth and biomass production of potato plants; however, the exogenous application of sodium selenite at 20 mg L −1 exhibited a significant increase in morpho-physiological growth, antioxidant enzyme activities, and tuber quality attributes. Malondialdehyde (MDA) contents were highest in control treatments, and maximum reduction in MDA content was observed in SL 1 S 2 at the budding stage and in SL 2 S 2 at the flowering stage. A similar trend was observed for proline contents in potato plants under salinity stress. Antioxidant enzymatic activities, were lowest in SL 2 S 0 , and the maximum increase in SOD activity was recorded in SL 1 S 2 at the budding and flowering stages (42.6 % and 58.6 %, respectively), followed by SL 2 S 2 (35.2 % and 47.8 %, respectively). However, CAT (63.5 % and 170.9 %) and POD (209.7 % and 54.9 %) activities were highest in SL 2 S 2 at the budding and flowering stages, respectively. It was further noticed that exogenous application of selenium showed more promising results in terms of better tuber quality. In the SL 1 S 2 treatment, starch, amylose, and amylopectin contents increased by 56.9 %, 154.5 %, and 12.9 %, respectively. Sodium selenite thus shows promise for enhancing potato resilience in saline soils, supporting food security in challenging environments. • Na 2 SeO 3 boosts potato growth, antioxidants & biomass under salinity stress. • Na 2 SeO 3 reduces MDA & elevates antioxidant enzymes under salt stress. • Na 2 SeO 3 enhances tuber starch, amylopectin & amylose under salinity.