Xianglan Li Noura Ziadi Gilles Bélanger Wenping Yuan Shunlin Liang Hua Xu Zucong Cai. Wheat grain Cd concentration and uptake as affected by timing of fertilizer N application. Canadian Journal of Soil Science 2013 10.4141-cjss2012-041

Abstract

The effect of a single N application (120 kg ha⁻¹) at seeding on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grain Cd concentration and uptake was compared with an equally split N application (seeding and the stem elongation stage) in a field experiment at 12 site-years. Averaged across all site-years the single N application tended to reduce wheat grain Cd concentration (58 vs. 68 µg kg⁻¹ DM) and uptake (151 vs. 191 mg ha⁻¹) compared with the split application. The Cd concentrations however never exceeded the maximum acceptable level for Cd in wheat grain. A single N application at seeding might reduce the risk of high grain Cd concentration in spring wheat.