Effect of selenium on growth and physiological traits of basil plant (Ocimum basilicum L.) under arsenic stress conditions

Arsenic is one of the common toxins in the environment that enters the environment through natural and artificial sources and causes stress in plants through various ways, including the effect on growth and metabolism of the plant. Further, the absorbance of this element in plants and the entry into the food chain create toxicity for humans. On the other hand, Selenium is a non-biological stress reliever and has a considerable impact on improved plant growth and photosynthesis and reduced stress. Due to the interaction of Arsenic and Selenium in soil and different plants and the importance of Basil plant, an experiment was performed to investigate the effect of Selenium on growth and some physiological traits of Basil plant (Ocimum basilicum L.) under Arsenic stress conditions. To implement this plan, a factorial pot experiment was carried out based on a randomized complete block design with three replications in Damghan Islamic Azad University. Arsenic concentrations of 0, 100, 200 and 300 micromoles with irrigation water were applied three times at regular intervals and Selenium concentrations of 0, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg L-1 were applied three times by solution spraying at regular intervals. In this experiment, it was found that growth traits decreased by increasing Arsenic. The lowest performance was related to Arsenic concentration of 300 mu m, resulting in a 45% decrease in growth and by applying Selenium treatment, Arsenic toxicity effect was reduced. The best performance was associated with Selenium concentration of 5 mg L-1.