2020/04/09 by C. W. Gray, B. Wise · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Silicon Effects in Agriculture #Aluminum toxicity and tolerance in plants and animals #Heavy metals in environment
paper · doi:10.1080/15320383.2020.1747980
openalex publication_date 2020/04/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/23
Cadmium (Cd) is readily absorbed by plants and can accumulate to concentrations that exceed food standards. Testing strategies that can mitigate plant uptake of Cd are essential to help manage the risk to food quality. We measured whether applying silicon (Si) fertilizer to a soil contaminated with Cd from phosphate fertilizer could decrease Cd concentrations in spinach (Spinacia olearacea) and onion (Allium cepa). The application of Si (1000 and 2500 kg ha−1) increased spinach dry matter (DM) yield and Si concentrations but had no effect on plant Cd concentrations or uptake. Application of Si had no effect on DM yield or Si concentrations in onions, but there was a 45% decrease in Cd concentrations in the onion bulb. Application of Si had no effect on calcium nitrate-extractable Cd. The decrease in Cd concentrations in onions was likely related to Si restricting the movement of Cd from the root to the harvestable part of the plant. These findings indicate that Si may have some potential as a mitigation tool to decrease plant uptake of Cd. Further investigation is required to evaluate its effectiveness across different soil types and test the response of a wider range of crops under field conditions.