Overview
This field study compared cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, and zinc concentrations in soil and in leaves, stems, roots, and seeds of Brassica juncea grown under two irrigation regimes: clean borewell water (control) and paper mill effluent (PME) in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It provides a within-study contrast of metal concentrations under ordinary (non-contaminated) agricultural conditions versus industrial wastewater irrigation.
Key numbers
Plant tissue concentrations (dry weight, mg/kg), Table 4:
Borewell (control) irrigation:
- Leaves: cadmium (Cd) 0.04 ± 0.01, chromium (Cr) 0.06 ± 0.01, Cu 0.01 ± 0.01, Fe 2.24 ± 1.02, Mn 0.15 ± 0.04, Zn 0.11 ± 0.02
- Seeds: lower than leaves for all metals
- Distribution: roots > stems > leaves > seeds for all metals under control
Paper mill effluent (PME) irrigation:
- Leaves: Cd 0.15 ± 0.06, Cr 0.91 ± 0.03, Cu 1.05 ± 0.03 (all substantially elevated)
- PME soil Cd: approximately 0.40 mg/L (effluent); plant Cd elevated ~4-fold vs control
Control soil concentrations (Table 2, mg/kg):
- Cd 0.23, Cr 0.34, Cu 0.06 (all below Indian/CPCB discharge limits)
Health risk indices (HRI):
- Under borewell irrigation, all HRI values < 1 for all metals (no health risk signal)
- Under PME irrigation, Cr HRI = 1.05 for children (above safety threshold of 1)
Paper mill effluent exceeded CPCB discharge limits for lead (Pb) (1.00 mg/L), while Cr concentrations in PME were 1.99 mg/L (above normal ranges).
Methods
ICP-OES; controlled field comparison (two irrigation treatments); HRI computed using standard consumption and body weight assumptions for Indian adults and children.
Implications
This is the highest-quality within-study contrast for mustard greens grown under non-contaminated agricultural conditions (borewell control). Under clean irrigation, Cd in mustard leaves was 0.04 mg/kg DW, far below the FAO/WHO permissible limit of 0.1 mg/kg for leafy vegetables. Under PME irrigation Cd rose to 0.15 mg/kg DW (above the limit), and chromium exceeded child HRI = 1. The control arm demonstrates that B. juncea grown in non-contaminated Indian agricultural soil can be well within food safety limits for cadmium. This is pathways evidence: irrigation water quality is a primary determinant of metal content in mustard greens.
Certification: not in HMT&C threshold pools. Routes to Mustard, Cadmium, Chromium, supply-chain/irrigation-water-quality.
App: No contamination_profile blocks are touched.
Microbiome: Not a focus of this source.
Update history
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