Cadmium accumulation in different pakchoi cultivars and screening for pollution-safe cultivars.
The selection and breeding of pollution-safe cultivars (PSCs) is a practicable and cost-effective approach to minimize the influx of heavy metal to the human food chain. In this study, both pot-culture and field experiments were conducted to identify and screen out cadmium pollution-safe cultivars (Cd-PSCs) from 50 pakchoi (Brassica rapa L. ssp. chinensis) cultivars for food safety. When treated with 1.0 or 2.5 mg/kg Cd, most of the pakchoi cultivars (>70%) showed greater or similar shoot biomass when compared with the control. This result indicates that pakchoi has a considerable tolerance to soil Cd stress. Cd concentrations in the shoot varied significantly (P<0.05) between cultivars: in two Cd treatments (1.0 and 2.5 mg/kg), the average values were 0.074 and 0.175 mg/kg fresh weight (FW), respectively. Cd concentrations in the shoots of 14 pakchoi cultivars were lower than 0.05 mg/kg FW. In pot-culture experiments, both enrichment factors (EFs) and translocation factors (TFs) of six pakchoi cultivars were lower than 1.0. The field studies further confirmed that the Hangzhouyoudonger, Aijiaoheiye 333, and Zaoshenghuajing cultivars are Cd-PSCs, and are therefore suitable for growth in low Cd-contaminated soils (≤1.2 mg/kg) without any risk to food safety.
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Ecological Health, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Ying
Y
Chen
Ting-qiang
TQ
Li
Xuan
X
Han
Zhe-li
ZL
Ding
Xiao-e
XE
Yang
Ye-fei
YF
Jin
D029741:Brassica rapa / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity*; D002104:Cadmium / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity*; D002681:China; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D059022:Food Safety / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D013045:Species Specificity
D012989:Soil Pollutants; D002104:Cadmium