Abstract:
Objective This study aimed to investigate the effects of green intelligent fertilizer (GIF) derived from alkaline silicon-rich slag on soil cadmium (Cd) bioavailability and Cd uptake/translocation in rice.
Method Three exogenous Cd concentrations (0, 0.5, and 1.5 mg kg1) were set on two different pH soils (alkaline soil, pH = 8.5; strongly acidic soil, pH = 4.5). Under the premise of maintaining the equal input of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium nutrients, conventional fertilization (NPK) served as the control. A pot experiment was carried out to study the effects of GIF on soil pH change, soil DTPA-Cd content, soil available silicon (SI) content, Cd and Si contents, accumulations, Cd enrichment and transfer coefficients in different organs of rice.
Result The results showed that alkaline soil exhibited significantly to decrease DTPA-Cd content and rice Cd accumulation compared to acidic soil under identical Cd treatments. Compared with NPK, GIF reduced DTPA-Cd content by 28.2% - 30.6% (acidic soil) and 0.0% - 50.1% (alkaline soil), increased soil pH by 0.22 - 0.25 and 0.13 - 0.20 units, and elevated available Si content by 6.6% - 13.8% and 4.0% - 12.1%, respectively. GIF treatment significantly reduced the Cd concentration in various organs of rice (acid soil decreased by 9.3% - 54.2%; alkaline soil decreased by 13.3% - 40.0%), and reduced the enrichment coefficient of Cd (acid soil decreased by 9.3% - 52.3%; alkaline soil decreased by 0.0% - 50.0%) and transfer coefficient (acid soil decreased by 1.5% - 42.6%; alkaline soil decreased by 4.3% - 24.3%). In acidic soil, the Si accumulation of rice plants treated with GIF increased by 15.6% - 102.1% compared with NPK treatment.
Conclusion GIF significantly reduced the bioavailability of Cd in soil by increasing soil pH and available Si content, while promoting the absorption of Si in rice and inhibiting the transport of Cd from vegetative organs to brown rice, thereby reducing the Cd content in brown rice. The improvement effect in acidic soil is more significant than that in alkaline soil.