Biofortify Your Greens: Iodine, Selenium & Hydroponic Nutrition

Biofortify Your Greens: Iodine, Selenium & Hydroponic Nutrition

From Hydroponics Daily by Eutrema Ltd

December 30, 2025 · 7 min · Episode 372

About this episode

Dr. Russell Sharp discusses the biofortification of crops using hydroponic methods and the associated benefits and risks.

Host Dr. Russell Sharp of Hydroponics Daily explains how hydroponic fertigation and his product Gold Leaf (Liquid Gold in the UK) can be used to biofortify edible crops with nutrients like iodine, selenium, iron, zinc and silicon. The episode covers practical benefits, higher micronutrient content, potential shelf-life and quality improvements, and serious cautions, especially selenium toxicity, stressing professional handling and precise dosing. Listeners learn why hydroponics makes targeted nutrient enrichment easier than soil, which crops have been shown to respond (lettuce, basil), and how biofortification might impact human nutrition and future dietary needs. https://eutrema.co.uk/shop/fertiliser/liquid-gold-unique-complete-fertiliser/ Howarth E. Bouis — International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) / HarvestPlus Amy Saltzman — HarvestPlus Wolfgang H. Pfeiffer — HarvestPlus / CGIAR J.V. Meenakshi — IFPRI Ekin Birol — IFPRI / HarvestPlus Edward A. Boy — HarvestPlus Dean A. Boy — HarvestPlus Daniel Asare-Marfo — IFPRI / HarvestPlus Erick Boy — HarvestPlus Jan W. Low — International Potato Center (CIP) Robert O.M. Mwanga — International Potato Center (CIP) Maria I…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Russell Sharp

Guests: Howarth E. Bouis, Amy Saltzman, Wolfgang H. Pfeiffer, J.V. Meenakshi, Ekin Birol, Edward A. Boy, Dean A. Boy, Daniel Asare-Marfo, Erick Boy, Jan W. Low, Robert O.M. Mwanga, Maria I. Andrade, Hugo Campos, Graham Thiele, Marcin G. Wirth, Ines Slamet-Loedin, B.P. Mallikarjuna Swamy

Topics covered

  • hydroponics
  • biofortification
  • nutrient enrichment
  • crop nutrition
  • selenium toxicity
  • fertigation

Keywords

  • iodine
  • selenium
  • iron
  • zinc
  • silicon
  • hydroponic nutrition
  • crop quality
  • shelf-life
  • fertigation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), HarvestPlus, CGIAR, International Potato Center (CIP), ETH Zürich, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)

Products: Gold Leaf, Liquid Gold

More episodes of Hydroponics Daily

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Hydroponics Daily podcast page.