Mitigation options of arsenic uptake by rice plant in arsenic endemic area

A study was initiated with selected organic and inorganic amendments to restrict arsenic mobilization in soilplant system under differential water sources as well as to examine the variability of arsenic uptake as the irrigation sources differ. The study was conducted in a arsenic endemic area, namely Nonaghata-Uttarpara village of Haringhata block of Nadia district, West Bengal with rice cv. IET 4786 during 2006-2007. The result indicated that among the organics, vermicompost gave the best result followed by farm yard manure, whereas FeSO4 > ZnSO4 > CaSiO3 in case of inorganic amendments in minimizing arsenic uptake in soil-plant system. Pond water irrigated plots received less arsenic in soil-plant system compared to shallow tube well irrigated plots. The arsenic concentration in different plant parts were significantly correlated to the degree of arsenic contamination of soil at different growth stages of rice.