Selenium status of soil, herbage and beef cattle in southern Thailand

The selenium status of beef cattle in the southern part of Thailand and the selenium concentration of soil and herbage consumed by those animals were investigated. Samples were collected from three areas with different soil types, namely, sandy soil, peat soil and laterite soil. The selenium concentration of soil, herbage and blood plasma showed a similar tendency; the values of laterite soil were higher than those of the other two areas. However, the selenium concentration of herbage of each pasture was lower than the NRC requirement, and that of blood plasma was not in the sufficient level. These data suggested that beef cattle raised in these areas were in the chronic selenium deficiency. We concluded that selenium supplementation is needed for the increase of animal productivity in the southern part of Thailand.