Effects of chemical applications to metal polluted soils on cadmium uptake by rice plant

Abstract

Pot experiment using metal polluted soils was conducted to investigate the effects of lime, iron and sulfur on changes in Cd availability and uptake by rice plant. Drainage and irrigation of water were performed to develop redox changes like field cultivation. Iron chloride and sodium sulfate solutions were applied to the pots in the middle of growth period of rice plant. Reactive metal pool in heavily polluted soils was slightly decreased after treatments with lime, iron chloride, sodium sulfate and combination of these chemicals. However, cadmium uptake by rice plant was significantly different across the treatments and the extent of Cd pollution. For highly polluted soils, more Cd reduction was observed in iron chloride treatments. Cd content in polished rice for iron chloride and (iron chloride+organic matter) treatments was only 16-23% and 25-37% compared to control and liming, respectively. Treatment of (iron chloride+sulfate) rather increased Cd content in rice. For moderately polluted soils, Cd reduction rate was the order of (OM+iron chloride) > iron chloride > lime. Other treatments including sulfate rather increased Cd content in rice maximum 3 times than control. It was proposed to determine the optimum application rate of iron for minimizing hazardous effect on rice plant.