A 2015 Rostov-region field experiment measured copper, zinc and lead in beetroot and potato grown on artificially metal-amended chernozem. Adding mineral fertilizer reduced several crop concentrations relative to the metal-only treatment, while yield responses differed between crops.
Key numbers
| Treatment | Cu beet | Cu potato | Zn beet | Zn potato | Pb beet | Pb potato |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| control | 2.5 | 4.7 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| 100 mg/kg each metal | 5.4 | 5 | 11.2 | 9.6 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
| metals + NPK | 4.5 | 4.7 | 7.2 | 8.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
Crop concentrations are mg/kg, with weight basis unspecified. Beet yields control/metals/metals+NPK: 25.4/21.5/22.3 t/ha; potato: 30.0/34.1/38.5 t/ha. Soil total/mobile concentrations and LSD values are preserved separately (Tables 1–3).
Methods (brief)
Three replicated plots per treatment at Donskoye experimental farm, Rostov region, Russia, 2015; Cu, Zn and lead (Pb) acetates added to 30 cm depth at nominal 100 mg/kg each. Total soil metals by XRF; mobile fractions by 1 N ammonium acetate buffer pH 4.8. Plant dry ashing at 450°C, nitric/hydrochloric acid dissolution and AAS; preparation does not establish the reporting moisture basis.
Implications
Supports crop-specific agronomic mitigation and soil-to-crop transfer evidence. Artificially amended experimental crops are not a market-occurrence distribution. Paper limit comparisons remain secondary context.
Evidence Fitness: EF-2 for experimental concentration/yield comparisons, with fertilizer-dose and weight-basis qualifications. No direct finished-food threshold inference.
Related evidence
- Remediation evidence — drivers and interventions
- Agronomic mitigation
- Soil-to-plant transfer of heavy metals
- Beet
- Potatoes
- Root and Tuber Vegetables
- Copper
- Zinc
- Lead
Update history
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