Cadmium is not essential for plants growth, but highly available for uptake. Its mobility and availability for plants is higher in acid soil. By being transferred into the food chain, in higher concentrations it can endanger human health. Its availability varies by different plant species. The concentration in chicory elevated on the farm in Šmarje pri Jelšah in 2018. It was confirmed that the limited value was exceeded, although the concentration of Cd in soil was <0.5 mg/kg, yet the soil was immensely acidic (pH 4.8). The experiment for purposes of the Master's thesis was carried out on the same farm, where the uptake of cadmium was determined in 10 edible parts of 9 vegetables. The experiment was conducted in vegetation year 2019 in three repetitions of two treatments: control and liming (Kalcevita preparation was used to increase the pH of the soil). The purpose of the thesis was to determine how soil liming affects the cadmium uptake into various vegetables. We were interested into how cadmium the concentration differs in the same vegetables on liming and control soils, which vegetables are safer to grow on liming soil and which vegetables can be grown without soil liming. The samples of control and limed soil were taken by probing in the spring, before sowing/planting and in the autumn, after the growing season. Standard soil parameters were analysed. Additionally, total and available Cd fractions were performed. Plant samples were harvested at the technological maturity of the vegetables. Edible vegetable parts were cleaned and dried. In addition, the samples were analysed for total Cd concentration. It was established that the concentration of cadmium was higher in some fields of limed soils than that of the control soils, however, both under the natural background value for Slovenia. Certain vegetables exceeded the limit value of Cd in food. An average concentration of Cd was not higher in vegetables from control soils as expected. Cadmium accumulates in miscellaneous parts of vegetables to different extent which was confirmed in parsley. Cd concentration in parsley root in the A2 field exceeded the limit value, while the concentration in its leaves was low and did not access the permissible value. Cadmium concentration varied by different vegetables in the same treatment.
|