CADMIUM CONCENTRATION IN VEGETABLE CROPS GROWN IN A SANDY SOIL AS AFFECTED BY CD LEVELS IN FERTILIZER AND SOIL-PH

Field trials were conducted over a three-year period with chinese cabbage (Brassica pekinensis Rupr.) and carrots (Daucus carota L.) grown in a sandy soil with pH adjusted to 5.5 and 6.5. The NPK fertilizers containing 1, 30, 90, and 400 mg Cd kg(-1) P were applied at the rate of 0.07, 2.1, 6.3 and 28 g Cd ha(-1) yr(-1). The amounts of Cd added through phosphate rock also ranged between 0.1 and 28 g ha(-1) yr(-1). The increased Cd application rates through NPK fertilizers increased the Cd concentration in both vegetables but the differences among treatments were not found to be significant. The Cd uptake by both crops was significantly (p<0.01) higher at pH 5.5 than at pH 6.5. Chinese cabbage exhibited lower Cd concentration than carrots. Carrot leaves contained higher Cd than its roots. Cadmium removals by chinese cabbage and carrot were about 0.7 and 1.3 g ha(-1) yr(-1), respectively. At pH 5.5, Cd concentrations in the two crops, based on a three-year average, were 23 and 46% higher than at pH 6.5. Cadmium uptake by chinese cabbage from different sources of phosphate rock was affected to a very limited extent. Cadmium concentration generally increased over the years. Cadmium extracted by ammonium nitrate after harvest of the crops was closely related with soil pH and Cd concentration in the plants.