Gradual Accumulation of Heavy Metals in an Industrial Wheat Crop from Uranium Mine Soil and the Potential Use of the Herbage

Abstract

Abstract:Testing the quality of heavy-metal (HM) excluder plants from non-remediable metalliferous soils could help to meet the growing demands for food, forage, and industrial crops. Field cultures of the winter wheat cv. JB Asano were therefore established on re-cultivated uranium mine soil (A) and the adjacent non-contaminated soil (C). Twenty elements were determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) from soils and plant sections of post-winter seedlings, anthesis-state, and mature plants to record within-plant levels of essential and toxic minerals during ripening and to estimate the (re)use of the soil-A herbage in husbandry and in HM-sensitive fermentations. Non-permissible HM loads (mg·kg −1 ·DW) of soil A in Cd, Cu, and Zn of 40.4, 261, and 2890, respectively, initiated the corresponding phytotoxic concentrations in roots and of Zn in shoots from the seedling state to maturity as well as of Cd in the foliage of seedlings. At anthesis, shoot concentrations in Ca, Cd, Fe, Mg, Mn, and Zn and in As, Cr, Pb, and U had fallen to a mean of 20% to increase to 46% during maturation. The respective shoot concentrations in C-grown plants diminished from anthesis (50%) to maturity (27%). They were drastically up/down-regulated at the rachis-grain interface to compose the genetically determined metallome of the grain during mineral relocations from adjacent sink tissues. Soil A caused yield losses of straw and grain down to 47.7% and 39.5%, respectively. Nevertheless, pronounced HM excluder properties made Cd concentrations of 1.6-3.08 in straw and 1.2 in grains the only factors that violated hygiene guidelines of forage (1). It is estimated that grains and the less-contaminated green herbage from soil A may serve as forage supplement. Applying soil A grains up to 3 and 12 in Cd and Cu, respectively, and the mature straw as bioenergy feedstock could impair the efficacy of ethanol fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Uranium and Fluoride Accumulation in Vegetable and Cereal Crops: A Review on Current Status and Crop-Wise Differences

“…However, it should be noted that feeding these vegetables, including their peel, to livestock can introduce U into the human food chain. The negative impact of U contamination is evident through reduced yields of vegetables (up to 87%) reported by Neves and Abreu [77] and Neves et al [72,77], and reduced yields of cereals (up to 47.7%) reported by Gramms and Voigt [78]. S2).…”

“…In leafy and cereal crops, U accumulation was most prominent in (decreasing order) the roots/straws, leaves, and edible parts (grains/fruit) [82,83]. Conversely, in non-leafy vegetables, the peels and tubers exhibited a higher accumulation of U (up to 90%) due to their elevated surface area and starch content [78,[84][85][86]. While, Shanthi et al [87] s demonstrated that edible tubers tend to contain higher levels of radionuclides compared to vegetables.…”

Turnover of Minerals and Organics in the Postharvest Herbage of Annuals and Perennials: Winter Wheat and Goldenrod

“…Similar deficits in the contribution of rhizomes of terrestrial and maritime grasses to the plants' N and P budget seem to be common [46,47]. Whereas in wheat crops the grains may account for up to 45% of the total biomass furnished by an unbroken allocation of soil constituents until maturity (e.g., [59]), the microscopic seeds formed by 20,000 per goldenrod plant with a 1000-seed fresh weight of 45-50 mg [60] are no notable sink of minerals and organics. The shoots' 23% drop in DW from blooming to maturity must therefore be attributed to a drain in water-soluble organics (95.7%) and the group of CaKMgNP (4.3%, w/w) no longer in need but virtually not to the discard of solid biomass ( Table 2).…”

Accumulation Of Heavy Metals In Soil And Aerobic Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) Samples

“…According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, rice production declined 3.2 % in 2018 from the previous year. Although there are many factors that may affect rice production, reports have shown that the presence of heavy metals in the soil can reduce rice yields and may have negative effects to human health (Gramss & Voigt, 2016).…”