Rahim measured lead, cadmium, iron and copper in dried edible broccoli and cauliflower heads grown under three irrigation regimes in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. The tables preserve crop-specific differences: wastewater-irrigated broccoli had the largest listed values for the four metals, whereas cauliflower cadmium was greatest under alternating irrigation.
Key numbers
The experiment used three replicate blocks, with transplanting on 20 September 2018 and harvest on 1 February 2019. Tables 3–4 (PDF pp. 4–5; printed pp. 165–166) report means with an unspecified plus/minus dispersion, all in µg/g of dried edible tissue. B denotes broccoli and C denotes cauliflower; W is wastewater, A alternating irrigation, and the final C clean water.
| Treatment | Pb | Cd | Fe | Cu |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B-W2 | 0.0250 ± 0.0006 | 0.0421 ± 0.0007 | 4.2247 ± 0.0009 | 0.1513 ± 0.0003 |
| B-A2 | 0.0245 ± 0.0003 | 0.0403 ± 0.0003 | 4.2173 ± 0.0003 | 0.1483 ± 0.0003 |
| B-C2 | 0.0241 ± 0.0003 | 0.0387 ± 0.0006 | 4.2117 ± 0.0007 | 0.1437 ± 0.0012 |
| C-W1 | 0.0240 ± 0.0000 | 0.0397 ± 0.0006 | 4.2190 ± 0.0005 | 0.1510 ± 0.0006 |
| C-A1 | 0.0242 ± 0.0003 | 0.0417 ± 0.0003 | 4.2130 ± 0.0015 | 0.1487 ± 0.0003 |
| C-C1 | 0.0239 ± 0.0007 | 0.0383 ± 0.0009 | 4.2077 ± 0.0017 | 0.1447 ± 0.0007 |
Methods (brief)
The randomized complete block field experiment at the University of Sulaimani compared clean water, Tanjero River wastewater and an alternating clean/wastewater schedule. Edible heads were washed with distilled water, shade-dried, ground and mixed. Nitric and perchloric-acid digestion preceded atomic absorption spectrometry for lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), Fe and Cu. XLSTAT and Tukey comparisons were used. No element-specific detection limits, recoveries or reference materials are reported.
Implications
The paired treatment summaries contribute source-native vegetable occurrence and irrigation-pathway evidence. The dried basis is not interchangeable with fresh vegetables. The experiment is site- and season-specific and does not characterize all river water, all Iraqi produce or long-term dietary exposure.
Evidence Fitness: EF-3; directly measured edible-product summaries from a small controlled field experiment, with unreported analytical quality-control details and dispersion type. Summary-only status does not by itself exclude the source from later appropriately scoped analysis.
Related evidence
- Non-Root Vegetables
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Irrigation water and soil amendments as anthropogenic inputs to cropland
- Lead
- Cadmium
- Iron
- Copper
Update history
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