Book with abstracts from the COST Action 0905 meeting in ... - UMB

HOW TO INFLUENCE THE CD CONTENT IN FOOD CROPS
Maria Greger 1,2
1 Faculty of Applied Ecology and Agricultural Sciences, Hedmark University College,
Blæstad, 2418 Elverum, Norway.
2 Department of Botany, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
Cadmium is a heavy metal which is toxic also in low concentrations. It reaches our body
via the daily intake of food crops such as wheat, potatoes, lettuce etc. This paper takes up
possible methods that may change the uptake of Cd into the food crops.
Phytoremediation is a useful tool to decrease the level of metals in the soil and thereby
would decrease the uptake in the post cultivated crop.
Silicon has been shown to increase the biomass production as well as tolerance against
various stresses. The accumulation of metals is also influenced.
Macro algal compost as fertilizers has been used earlier in agriculture. Since algae takes up
various elements from the water and are able to bind up metals in its body it is possible
that these metals may be transferred to the crops or that the available metal concentration
in the soil will decrease.