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Title: Growth and cadmium accumulation of plants grown on a soil treated with a cadmium-enriched sewage sludge

Journal Article · · J. Environ. Qual.; (United States)
OSTI ID:6452732

Corn, wheat, rice, field bean, soybean, cabbage, spinach, lettuce, curlycress, carrot, turnip, radish, tomato, and squash plants were grown to commercial harvest stage using as the substrate, soil pretreated with a municipal sewage sludge (1%) containing variable amounts of CdSO/sub 4/ up to 640 ..mu..g Cd/g soil. Observations included injury symptoms, yield decrement, Cd level of diagnostic tissue, and Cd and Zn content of harvested produce. Cadmium-sensitive plants such as spinach, soybean, curlycress, and lettuce were injured by soil Cd levels of 4-13 ..mu..g Cd/g soil; whereas, tomato and cabbage tolerated soil levels of approximately 170 ..mu..g Cd/g soil without exhibiting injury symptoms. Rice was tolerant at all levels tested. Leafy plants such as lettuce, spinach, and turnip greens (tops) accumulated 175 to 354 ..mu..g Cd/g; whereas, fruit and seed tissue of plants under comparable treatment, with the exception of soybean, accumulated no more than 10 to 15 ..mu..g Cd/g tissue. The concentrations for soybean extended up to 30 ..mu..g Cd/g tissue. Paddy rice exhibited no ill effects for soil Cd treatments up to 640 ..mu..g Cd/g soil. Grain of plants under the 640..mu..g Cd/g treatment contained 2 ..mu..g Cd/g tissue. DPTA-extractable Cd correlated (r=0.99) with the level of CdSO/sub 4/ added to the substrate.

Research Organization:
Univ. of California, Riverside
OSTI ID:
6452732
Journal Information:
J. Environ. Qual.; (United States), Vol. 4:2
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English