Influence of long-term fertilization on the cadmium content of calcareous chernozem soil

Abstract

Cadmium is a nonessential element in plant nutrition that can be toxic to plants when its content in soils is high. Significant amounts of this metal can be introduced into soils through application of high doses of phosphorus fertilizers, farmyard manure and sewage sludge. Not much work has been done on the effect of different fertilization systems on the content of Cd in various soils in Serbia. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of long-term application of mineral and organic fertilizers (beef manure and cornstalks) on the content of cadmium in a calcareous chernozem soil. For this purpose soil samples were taken from an experimental field of the Maize Research Institute in Belgrade. Total and available (DTPA-extractable) cadmium was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. All experimental variants had lower content of total cadmium than soil samples taken before the experiment was set up. Comparison with the control indicated that the content of cadmium (total and available) increased under the influence of the applied fertilizers. It can be concluded that the investigated fertilization systems did not cause pollution of the calcareous chernozem soil with cadmium. Correlation coefficients between Cd content in the soil and some important agrochemical properties of the investigated samples are presented in this paper.