Translocation of Aluminum to Grain Crops Grown in Different Agricultural Systems

The aim of this study was to evaluate the mobility and transport of Aluminum (Al) by shoot and grain crops (wheat and maize) grown on two different agricultural soil irrigated with water have high (lake water) and low levels (canal water) of Al. The total and bioavailable fractions (deionized water, 0.11M CH3COOH, 0.05M ethylenediaminetetraaceticacid (EDTA) and 0.1 M HCl extractable) of Al in both understudied agricultural soils and correlate with respective total Al in the edible parts (grains) and non edible parts (Shoots) of wheat and maize. The Al content in lake and canal water samples was found in the range of 750 – 1340 and 90 – 150 μg/L respectively. The total and extractable Al in both agricultural soil samples, edible and non edible parts of wheat and maize were analysed by atomic absorption spectrometry after acid digestion in microwave oven. The edible and non edible part of both crops absorbed significantly high levels of Al grown on agricultural soil irrigated with lake water (SILW) as compared to those grown on soil irrigated with canal water (SICW) had low level of Al (p<0.01). The transfer factor of Al from soils to edible and non edible parts of wheat and maize were also evaluated. It was observed that the bioaccumulation of Al was found to be high in non edible parts of both crops grown in SILW. This study highlights the increased danger of growing food crops in the agricultural land continuously irrigated by Al contaminated lake water.