Higher accumulation of toxic heavy metals in rice grown in agricultural soil may lead to health disorder. A field experiment was carried out to investigate uptake and translocation of Cd, Cr, Pb, As, and Hg by different parts of rice plant in various irrigation regions. The results showed the rice grain contained significantly lower amounts of five metals than straw and root in all sampling sites. Rice root accumulated Cd, As, and Hg from the paddy soil. Moreover, the rice plant transported As very weakly, whereas Hg was transported most easily into the straw and grain among studied heavy metals.

A field experiment was conducted to study the accumulation of toxic heavy metals by winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown in the agricultural soil in the suburb of Zhengzhou City, China. The quantities of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Pb, As, Hg) were determined in different parts of wheat plant. The content of five toxic metals was found significantly higher in roots than in the aerial parts of wheat (stems and leaves, and grains). Additionally, wheat roots were enriched in Cd, Pb, and Hg from the soil, while Cr and As were hardly taken up by the roots. On the other hand, the winter wheat transported five toxic heavy metals very weakly from root to grain in the various irrigation regions.