Effect of water management on cadmium and arsenic accumulation by rice (Oryza sativa L.) with different metal accumulation capacities

PURPOSE: Water management affects the bioavailability of cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) in the soil and hence their accumulation in rice grains and grain yields. However, Cd and As show opposite responses to soil water content, but information, particularly on irrigation, is missing on a field scale. The purpose of the present study was therefore to find a water management regime that can lower accumulation of both Cd and As in grain without yield loss. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars, A16 and A159, with different grain Cd accumulation capacities were employed in field plot experiments with four water management regimes comprising aerobic, intermittent, conventional practice and flooded. The dynamics of Cd and As bioavailability in the soil and Cd and As concentrations in roots, straw and grains were determined at the early tillering, full tillering, panicle initiation, filling and maturity stages of crop growth. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The lower water content regimes (aerobic and intermittent) mostly led to higher soil HCl-extractable Cd than the higher soil water content regimes (conventional and flooded). HCl-extractable As in contrast was favoured by the higher soil water content treatments. Conventional and flooded irrigation accordingly gave higher plant As concentrations but lower Cd compared to aerobic and intermittent irrigation. Cd concentrations in roots and straw of both varieties increased with growth stage, especially in aerobic and intermittent regimes, while As concentrations in plants showed little change or a slight decrease. As the water irrigation volume increased from aerobic to flooded, brown rice Cd decreased from 1.15 to 0.02 mg kg⁻¹ in cultivar A16 and from 1.60 to 0.05 mg kg⁻¹ in cultivar A159, whereas brown rice As increased. Aerobic and flooded treatments produced approximately 10–20 % lower grain yields than intermittent and conventional treatments. Cultivars with low Cd accumulation capacity show higher brown rice grain As than those with high Cd uptake capacity. CONCLUSIONS: Of the four water management regimes, the conventional irrigation method (flooding maintained until full tillering followed by intermittent irrigation) ensured high yield with low Cd and As in the brown rice and so remains the recommended irrigation regime.