Evaluation of the Biological Phenomenon of Cadmium Accumulation of Wheat Crop in Salt-Affected Soil

Abstract

This study was carried out to show the extent to which some economic crops (wheat) grown in soil affected by salts and polluted with cadmium were affected by wheat crops. An experiment was conducted with pots in the plastic canopy. Combat Desertification Department College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences. University of Baghdad for the year 2022-2023, as a factorial experiment was designed according to a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications and five levels of cadmium, which are 0.37, 51, 03, 51, and 03 mg kg⁻¹, for soil with two levels of salinity (Electrical conductivity 2.90 and 9.10 dS m⁻¹, respectively. Seeds of wheat, Bohuth class 22, were grown in clay loam soil taken from the surface layer (0-30 cm) from the site of Al-Karmashiya located in Thi-Qar Governorate, north of Al-Hammar marsh. The results of the study showed a decrease in growth indicators represented by plant height and biological yield (straw and grain weight), while the cadmium concentration increased in the biological yield (straw and grain) as a result of soil contamination with cadmium levels compared to the comparison treatment, as there was a rise in the bioavailability of cadmium content despite the fact that The soil is calcareous, and the high salinity of the soil also led to an increase in the readiness of cadmium, which caused an increase in its absorption and concentration in the wheat plant compared to the control treatment, and the absorption and accumulation of cadmium in straw was greater than in the grain.