Cadmium and zinc uptake by corn (Zea mays L.) with repeated applications of sewage sludge

• Published in: Journal of agricultural and food chemistry Vol. 32; no. 1; pp. 155 - 163
• Main Authors: Hinesly, Thomas D, Redborg, Kurt E, Pietz, Richard I, Ziegler, Eugene L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 01-01-1984
• Subjects: cadmium; sewage sludge; soil amendment; Zea mays; zinc
• ISSN: 0021-8561; 1520-5118
• DOI: 10.1021/jf00121a037

Annual applications of digested sewage sludge were made on plots of an acid silt loam soil and a calcareous strip mine spoil material for a period of 12 and 7 years, respectively, to determine their effects on concentrations of Cd and Zn in the leaves and grain of one particular corn hybrid. On the acid soil, leaves and grain of corn had Cd and Zn contents that were proportional to amounts of sludge-borne Cd and Zn applied during the previous growing season by furrow irrigation. But, repeated sludge applications on the same acid soil in successive years did not cause concentrations of Cd in leaves and grain of corn to increase further. Zinc concentrations were increased significantly only in leaves of plants growing on soil repeatedly irrigated with the two lower rates of sewage sludge. In contrast, repeated sludge applications on calcareous strip mine spoil resulted in additive increases of both Cd and Zn contents in corn leaves and grain.