Effects of gibberellin and uniconazole on growth and selenium uptake in loquat

Abstract Selenium (Se) is critical for human health, and enhancing plant Se content serves as a key strategy to boost human Se intake. To facilitate Se uptake in loquats, this pot experiment explored the effects of gibberellin (300 mg/L), uniconazole (20 mg/L), and their combined treatment on the growth and Se accumulation of loquat seedlings under exogenous Se stress (0.25 mg/L Na 2 SeO 3 ). The results showed that all three treatments significantly increased the root and shoot biomass and photosynthetic pigment content of loquat seedlings, while promoting Se enrichment under Se stress (0.25 mg/L Na 2 SeO 3 ). Remarkably, the combined treatment demonstrated optimal efficacy, increasing root and shoot biomass by 31.9% and 10.0%, respectively, elevating chlorophyll a , chlorophyll b , and carotenoid contents by 42.7%, 62.9% and 37.7%, respectively, while significantly enhancing Se concentrations in roots and shoots by 73.8% and 60.5%, respectively. Correlation and gray relational analysis revealed that the root biomass, root‐shoot ratio, POD activity and root Se content showed the closest relationships with the stem Se content. The results here demonstrate that the combined application of gibberellin and uniconazole can effectively promote the growth and Se accumulation of loquat seedlings.