Fluoride accumulation by crops grown in parts of Nalgonda District, Telangana State, India

Abstract

The present study was carried out to assess accumulation of fluoride in vegetables and cereal crop grown in potentially fluoridated area in Nalgonda district, Telangana, India. The results indicated that, accumulation of fluoride (F) was observed in different plant parts of crops irrigated with F contaminated ground water (0.73 to 3.25 and 1.12 to 4.67 mg L-1 during kharif and rabi seasons, respectively) grown in soil containing 0.41 to 2.32 and 0.68 to 2.63 mg kg-1 available fluoride during kharif and rabi seasons, respectively. The concentration range in plant parts of different crops is 0.12 to 3.35 mg kg-1 and 0.30 to 3.95 mg kg-1 in kharif and rabi, respectively. The values are lower than the maximum allowed level of 4.0 mg kg-1 in food and vegetable recommended by FAO and WHO. The implication of the results is that the use of the ground water for irrigation, and the contribution of fluoride to the soil and absorption by the crops, has no deleterious effect on the soil and some crops cultivated with ground water. The mean F levels in the economic part of the crops analyzed are follows the order; paddy > sorghum > red gram in kharif and groundnut > paddy > sorghum in rabi. Among the vegetables, tomato accumulated higher F followed by brinjal and bhendi. Maximum accumulation of F (mg kg-1 dry wt.) occurred in the roots followed by shoot and economic part.

Keywords

• Fluoride
• Crops
• Nalgonda
• Plant Parts
• Seasonal Changes
• Telangana