SOAR is a research school. In addition to the focus on PhD students, SOAR also includes graduates, postdocs and supervisors in the activities and networks. This is important because they also constitute the research environment, in which the PhD student is under education. SOAR wants to contribute to the professional discussions with a special focus on the organic food and farming systems.
The research interests of SOAR cover a wide range of subjects within organic agriculture and food systems:
Our objective is to determine whether some types of catch crops, with different S uptake, can be used to increase the content of sulfur and selenium compounds in species which are able to incorporate high quantities of Se and to produce selenoamino acids that are potentially bioactive for nutrition purposes and normally implicated the S pathways. Within the project the uptake of S and Se by different catch crops as well as the rate of Se mineralization and leaching will be studied both in field and pot experiments
Background
Selenium (Se) is an essential nutrient for animals, humans and microorganisms, although, in the past Se was only considered for its toxic capabilities. Diseases associate with Se deficiency have been a serious problem in humans and farm animals in areas where selenium concentration in soil is low (New Zealand, Finland, United Kingdom and some areas of China). Furthermore, increasing evidences point to an anti-carcinogenic potential of Se-compounds (Se-methylselenocysteine and γ-glutamyl-Se-methylselenocysteine), which have been shown to provide chemoprotective effects against certain types of cancer in humans. To address Se deficiency in the human diet and to benefit form the medical properties of the organoselenium compounds, agronomists and plant breeders are pursuing complementary strategies to produce crops with greater Se concentrations. In Finland and New Zealand selenate fertilizers have been used successfully in the trial to increase Se accumulation by crops. Studies have demonstrated that several forage plant species (wild mustard, canola, alfalfa, birds trefoil, tall fescue) absorb Se when grown in soil where Se enriched plant tissues are incorporated. Catch crops have been used successfully in organic crop production by improving soil fertility, increasing nitrogen and sulfur content in the soil and avoiding nutrient leaching. Thus, catch crops with an increased ability to acquire and accumulate Se can be an alternative method to increase Se concentration in plants in organic crop production
