The Effect of Liming on the Availability of Cadmium in Soils and Its Uptake in Cacao (<i>Theobroma c acao</i>L.) In Trinidad &amp; Tobago

Ramtahal, Gideon; Yen, Ivan Chang; Hamid, Alisha; Bekele, Isaac; Bekele, Frances L.; Maharaj, Kamaldeo; Harrynanan, Lisa

doi:10.1080/00103624.2018.1510955

Cited by 19 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…It has been reported that pH and organic matter in soils are related to the absorption of Cd in cacao plants. 5,[48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56] Thus, several studies have used lime, 55,56 organic matter amendments 48 or biochar 20,24,[49][50][51]55 to manage Cd absorption by cacao plants. Lime acts mainly increasing soil pH, and it has been reported that the sorption of Cd in soils increases by a factor of 3 to 5 for each unit of increase in pH, 4 and organic matter causes Cd retention in soils by surface adsorption or by generating complexes with the Cd ions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of soil characteristics on cadmium absorption and plant growth of Theobroma cacao L. seedlings

et al. 2021

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BACKGROUND: Cadmium uptake by cacao plants can affect plant growth, consumer health and commercialisation. To develop mitigation strategies, it is essential to identify the soil characteristics that could influence this absorption. To determine the relationships between cadmium absorption and the soil characteristics of cacao areas, the responses at concentrations of 0, 2, 5, 10 and 20 ∼g g −1 of cadmium in three soils of these areas and an andisol were evaluated, using 120-day-old seedlings of four cultivars of Theobroma cacao L.RESULTS: In the present study, several relationships were found between chemical and physical soil characteristics and available cadmium, such as real and bulk densities, as well as contents of iron, sand, magnesium, potassium, sodium and copper. Additionally, moderate to strong correlations between potassium (r 2 = −0.56) and real density (r 2 = 0.42), with foliar cadmium, were found. Moreover, a differential deleterious effect on cacao growth in variables such as biomass was corroborated in cadmium concentrations from 5 ∼g g −1 in soils. There were no statistical differences between cultivars with respect to cadmium uptake or plant growth. Finally, a multiple linear regression model is proposed to estimate the foliar cadmium content (r 2 = 0.878).CONCLUSION: Some soil characteristics such as density, as well as sand, clay, aluminium, potassium and iron contents, should be considered before establishing cacao crops to avoid cadmium accumulation. The correlation between potassium with foliar cadmium indicated that potassium could be significant in cadmium uptake mitigation strategies. The high correlation between available cadmium and foliar cadmium indicates that the quantification methodology developed using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid extractant may be a useful diagnostic tool.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of soil characteristics on cadmium absorption and plant growth of Theobroma cacao L. seedlings

et al. 2021

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The application of lime and biochar to Cd contaminated soils have been shown to be effective in mitigating Cd uptake into the cacao tree and into the beans (Ramtahal et al 2018;. However, a number of studies have recommended that the method of application needs to be improved in order to improve the effectiveness of the soil ameliorants under eld conditions (Argüello et al 2020;Ramtahal et al 2018Ramtahal et al , 2019. The effectiveness of the various methods of application were explored in this study based on (a) the time taken for the amendment to take effect (b) the magnitude of reduction in leaf Cd and (c) the duration of effectiveness compared to the control.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Broadcasting otherwise known as surface application of the material can be done with or without subsequent incorporation by tillage and is considered to be typically the fastest and most economical method of application of amendments, but is prone to amendment losses due to environmental factors (Brady and Weil 2004). 2019) employing surface application with light tilling into the top 20-cm of the top soil layer, while taking care not to damage the lateral feeder roots of the cacao tree, showed this to be an improvement over surface application without tilling (Ramtahal et al 2018). Another recent pot study, Argüello et al (2020) highlighted the importance of subsurface liming to improve the effectiveness of lime applications in reducing Cd uptake.…”

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Mitigation of Cadmium Uptake in Cocoa: Efficacy of Soil Application Methods of Lime and Biochar

Ramtahal¹,

Umaharan

Davis

et al. 2021

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Although mitigation approaches have been developed to reduce Cd in cocoa beans the efficacy of the approaches have been inadequate to make them economically viable. A field study was conducted in a cocoa farm in Biche, Trinidad using two soil amendments, lime and biochar, at recommended rates using three methods of application, soil surface application with incorporation (SA), soil injection (SI) or deep placement using an auger (AA) along with a control. The objective was to determine the application method that would be most efficacious with respect to rapidity of effect, magnitude of reduction and persistency of effect on leaf Cd. The experiment was arranged in randomized complete block design with three replications with 15 trees per replication. Phytoavailable soil Cd, soil pH, CEC and total leaf Cd concentration were monitored monthly on three guarded trees per plot over a one-year period. The results showed that both lime and biochar were effective in reducing leaf cadmium levels albeit at different levels. The efficacy of SI was significantly better than SA in terms of rapidity of the effect on leaf Cd in comparison to the control (40% compared to 30%) as well as the effect was more persistent in SI. With biochar, again the SI was significantly better than SA with regards to reducing leaf Cd levels in comparison to the control (35% compared to 20%) but the time taken to action and the persistency were lower compared to lime application. AA did not significantly reduce Cd level in the leaf with lime or biochar application.

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“…They attributed this lack of effect to the long time needed for the reaction of lime with soil, the variable moisture status of the soil profile, competitive desorption of Cd 2+ by Ca 2+ , reduced penetration of the liming material to deeper soil horizons where active roots take up the metal, and Cl − controlled Cd phytoavailability in their test soils (Maier et al., 1997). The first report on liming to reduce Cd accumulation in cacao showed inconclusive results, as both limed and control treatments presented a reduction in leaf Cd concentration during the experimental period (Ramtahal et al., 2018). Ramtahal, Umaharan, Hanuman, Davis, and Ali (2019) reported only minor effects of liming soils with up to 6 Mg Ca(OH) 2 ha −1 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface soil liming reduces cadmium uptake in cacao seedlings but subsurface uptake is enhanced

et al. 2020

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Cadmium concentrations in cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) beans from South America often exceed trade limits. Liming soil is advocated as a remediation option, but amendments cannot be incorporated into the entire root zone without harming the trees. An experiment was set up to identify how Cd uptake varies within the root zone when surface and subsurface soil layers are either limed or not. The experiment used 22-cm-height pots with top and bottom layers using surface and subsurface soil samples from a cacao field. The potted soils were either surface limed or not or fully limed and layers spiked with stable 108 Cd isotope in various combinations to trace the plant Cd provenance. The root distribution was neither affected by liming nor by soil source; 70% of the root biomass was present in the top layer. Plants grown on the fully limed surface soil had 1.7 times lower Cd concentrations in leaves than the unlimed treatments, whereas this concentration was 1.2 times lower when only the top layer was limed (surface soil used in both layers). The isotope dilution data showed that surface soil liming enhanced Cd uptake from the unlimed bottom layer compared with the unlimed soil, suggesting compensating mechanisms. The pots containing surface soil over subsurface soil also showed that compensating effect but, due to lower phytoavailable Cd in the subsurface soil, surface liming still effectively reduced foliar Cd. We conclude that liming might be a feasible mitigation strategy, but its effectiveness is limited when Cd phytoavailability remains untreated in the subsurface layer.

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The Effect of Liming on the Availability of Cadmium in Soils and Its Uptake in Cacao (Theobroma c acaoL.) In Trinidad & Tobago

Cited by 19 publications

References 26 publications

Effect of soil characteristics on cadmium absorption and plant growth of Theobroma cacao L. seedlings

Effect of soil characteristics on cadmium absorption and plant growth of Theobroma cacao L. seedlings

Mitigation of Cadmium Uptake in Cocoa: Efficacy of Soil Application Methods of Lime and Biochar

Surface soil liming reduces cadmium uptake in cacao seedlings but subsurface uptake is enhanced

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