THE SELENIUM CONTENT OF SASKATCHEWAN WHEAT

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Abstract
Determinations of the selenium content of 230 composites made up from 2230 individual samples of wheat grown from pure varieties on soils of known type over the whole of the wheat-producing area of the province of Saskatchewan are recorded. The composites were made on the basis of shipping point, wheat variety, and soil type. The maximum amount of selenium found was 1.5 p.p.m., this quantity being present in 10 of the 230 composites, representing 71 (3.2%) of the individual samples. The average found for all the samples analysed was 0.44 p.p.m. It is considered that the averaging that occurs on bulk handling of wheat for export would prevent the selenium content of export cargoes from exceeding materially this average concentration. This represents less than one-tenth of the minimum concentration found to affect the growth of young animals. Analysis of 80 individual samples from the composites containing the highest quantities of selenium showed that no sample contained selenium in concentration as high as the minimum affecting growth. Wheat grown on soil of glacial lacustrine origin predominated among the samples giving the higher selenium content.

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