The influence of soil type on maize and wheat uranium uptake
Main Article Content
Keywords
maize, phosphate fertilisers, soil types, uranium, wheat
Abstract
One of the ways that uranium enters the environment is via the use of mineral phosphate fertilisers. A further route of uranium depends on soil properties, grown plants and groundwater. The uranium mobility in soil is regulated by environmental pH, red-ox potential, soil structure and mineral composition of a solid phase. The aim of this research was to define the levels and trends of uranium distribution in three different soil types and organs of grown maize and wheat, due to the long-term application of phosphate fertilisers. Uranium content was determined in plants and soil types. Fresh plants were washed, dried and burned. Final ash was further processed for determination of uranium concentration by fluorescent spectroscopy. The results indicated that the concentrations of uranium in fertilised soils were within its natural limits. Significant differences in uranium content in various parts of maize and wheat were found to be subject to the soil type, which was not the case regarding the nutrition treatment. In the three soil types tested, the results suggested that uranium concentration in soil decreases with an increase in soil acidity, which is in contrast to its accumulation in roots of cultivated plants.
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