Intercropping of Cyphomandra betacea with Different Ploidies of Solanum Sect. Solanum (Solanaceae) Wild Vegetables Increase Their Selenium Uptakes.

Selenium (Se) deficiency causes various diseases in humans. Se can be obtained from fruits and vegetables. In this study, the fruit tree was intercropped with three sect. (Solanaceae) wild vegetables [diploid (), tetraploid (colchicine-induced ), and hexaploid ()], respectively, and Se uptakes of these plants were determined by a pot experiment. Intercropping decreased the biomass, photosynthetic pigment content, and superoxide dismutase activity of , but increased the peroxidase (POD) activity, catalase (CAT) activity, and soluble protein content of These indicators' values of sect. increased after intercropping. The contents of Se increased in and sect. after intercropping. Intercropped with diploid, tetraploid, and hexaploid increased the shoot Se contents in by 13.73%, 17.49%, and 26.50%, respectively, relative to that of monoculture. Intercropped with increased the shoot Se contents in diploid, tetraploid, and hexaploid by 35.22%, 68.86%, and 74.46%, respectively, compared with their respective monoculture. The biomass and Se content of intercropped sect. showed linear relationships with the biomass and Se content of their monocultures. The biomass and Se content of intercropped also exhibited linear relationships with that of sect. monocultures. Correlation and grey relational analyses revealed that the CAT activity, POD activity, and soluble protein content were the top three indicators closely associated with the shoot Se content. The POD activity, soluble protein content, and translocation factor were the top three indicators closely associated with sect. shoot Se content. Therefore, intercropping can promote the Se uptake in and sect. wild vegetables.