Soil Factors Driving Uptake of Toxic Elements by Rice and Leafy Greens

Rice and leafy greens are healthy, widely consumed foods but are susceptible to contamination by soil-occurring toxic elements such as arsenic, cadmium and lead. This project will build upon recent work funded by the Food & Chemical Safety Committee that identified a critical need for a deeper understanding of the interrelationships among soil characteristics, mitigation options and resulting levels of toxic elements in plants and commodities. This project will address key questions around how soil concentrations of toxic elements are impacted by soil characteristics to affect potential transfer to crops while also investigating the distribution and variability of these elements in specific crops across growing regions.

Investigators: Dr. Matt Limmer, PhD and Angelia Seyfferth, PhD

Institution: University of Delaware