Journal of Agriculture & Life Sciences

DIFFERENTIAL LEAD (PB) ACCUMULATION IN COOL SEASON VEGETABLES
Celine Richard, Kathryn Fontenot, Edward Bush, Heather Kirk-Ballard, M. Taylor Bryant

Abstract
Lead (Pb) contamination of urban soils can result in health risks for exposed individuals. Soil-Pb exposure occurs by ingestion or inhalation and poses an elevated risk for young children. Indirect Pb ingestion can occur when vegetables are grown in Pb contaminated soils. The Pb is often found in the edible tissue of vegetables. The objective of this study was to evaluate differential Pb uptake in common cool season vegetable crops. Multiple cultivars of three species of leafy green vegetables (Brassica juncea, Brassica rapa, & Lactuca sativa) were grown in Pb treatedmedia (0, 500, 1000, and 2000 ppm Pb) to evaluate Pb accumulation in plant leaves and stems. In both trial 1 and 2, the highest accumulating cultivars at the 2000 ppm level were Chinese cabbage „Mibuna", and lettuces „Arianna" and „Great Lakes". All three of these cultivars exceeded a food safety standard threshold. In the second trial, all but two cultivars exceeded this threshold in all soil Pb treatments.

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