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Ecological safety of sunflower seeds in the conditions of agricultural intensification

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Overview

Tkachuk and coauthors measured heavy metals and other toxicants in soil and sunflower seeds under intensive agricultural technology. The source is routeable to sunflower seeds because it reports direct seed testing for Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, nitrates, and related soil contaminants. It is production-system context, not a consumer-market basket.

Key numbers

Sunflower seed values (Table 3, single batch sampled with a grain probe, M±m, mg/kg fresh-seed basis as reported):

  • Pb: 0.09±0.02 mg/kg (Ukrainian MPC 0.5; 0.18 MPC).
  • Cd: 0.010±0.02 mg/kg (MPC 0.1; 0.10 MPC).
  • Cu: 1.27±0.35 mg/kg (MPC 10.0; 0.13 MPC).
  • Zn: 6.12±1.10 mg/kg (MPC 50.0; 0.12 MPC).
  • Nitrates: 32.5±2.60 mg/kg (MPC 300.0; 0.11 MPC).

The authors report that no exceedance of MPC values for heavy metals or nitrates was found in the sunflower seeds.

Accumulation coefficients (seed-to-soil ratio of mobile forms, Figure 1):

  • Pb: 0.06 (least absorbed of the four).
  • Cd: 0.1.
  • Cu: 1.7.
  • Zn: 1.8.

Soil mobile-form values (Table 2, grey podzolised medium loamy soil, M±m, mg/kg unless noted):

  • Pb: 1.55±0.1 (MPC 6.0; 0.3 MPC).
  • Cd: 0.10±0.03 (MPC 0.7).
  • Cu: 0.75±0.02 (MPC 3.0; 0.25 MPC).
  • Zn: 3.35±0.4 (MPC 23.0; 0.15 MPC).
  • Hg: 0.005±0.001 (MPC 2.1; 0.002 MPC). Soil only; seeds were not analysed for mercury.
  • Fe: 57.20±2.0 (no MPC reported).
  • Co: 1.00±0.1 (MPC 5.0; 0.2 MPC).
  • Mo: 0.10±0.3 (MPC 10; 0.01 MPC).
  • B: 1.64±0.3 (MPC 30; 0.05 MPC).
  • Radioactive caesium: 0.30±0.04 Ci/km² (MPC 1.0; 0.3 MPC).

Methods (brief)

Field experiments were conducted in 2021-2022 at the Zorya Vasylivka Farm in Vasylivka, Vinnytsia district, Ukraine, on grey podzolised medium loamy soils, under intensive technology with N90P90K90 ammonium nitrate phosphate fertilisation. Soil samples were taken at ten points along the field diagonal to 25 cm depth before harvest; sunflower seeds were sampled from one batch using a grain probe. Both matrices were analysed by atomic absorption spectrophotometric method at the Zhytomyr branch of the State Institution “DerzhHruntOkhorona” (Institute of Soil Protection of Ukraine), per DSTU ISO 10381-1:2004 (soil) and DSTU 4117:2007 (seed grain). Mobile forms of Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Hg, Fe, Co, Mo, B, and radioactive caesium were determined in soil; seeds were analysed for Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, and nitrates.

Implications

Certification: Ukraine production-system context for sunflower seeds. Courses: example of seed-vs-byproduct accumulation caveat. App: routeable context with full table extraction needed for quantitative use.

Update history

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