CADMIUM AND LEAD ACCUMULATION BY CROPS ON DIFFERENT SOILS

Key words: cadmium, lead, plants, soil properties

The soil is a powerful heavy metal accumulator but it has a very weak self- cleaning capacity. The elements accumulating in soil take away extremely slowly, only during leaching, plant uptake, erosion and deflation. Metals can be a source of secondary contamination and a dangerous substratum for agricul- tural production of commodity a long time after stopping the entry of metals on a soil surface.

The maximum tolerance level of heavy metal contents in plants is one of the main criteria of plant quality. Their qualities is irrespective of soils where plants are cultivated. The requirements for plant productions used in man nutrition are harder than for agricultural animal forage. Therefore the maximum tolerance concentration of heavy metals for various soils must be different. It should be differentiated according to concrete soil-climatic conditions.