Cu, Cd, Co, Pb, Cr, Fe, Ni, and Zn Leaching from Cultivated Soil Layer and Accumulation in the Okra Planted on Sandy Loam Soil in Phuoc Dong, Nha Trang, Vietnam

• Published in: Water, air, and soil pollution Vol. 236; no. 11; p. 756
• Main Authors: Thao, Tien Doan Phan, Thu, My Trinh Thi, Zinicovscaia, Inga, Yushin, Nikita, Duc, Thinh Pham, Do Van, Dung, Thanh, Nghiem Nguyen, Ngoc, Toan Dang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.11.2025; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Accumulation; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Cadmium; Chromium; Climate; Climate Change/Climate Change Impacts; Cobalt; Contamination; Copper; Crops; Cultivation; Earth and Environmental Science; Emission measurements; Environment; Harvesting; Health risks; Heavy metals; Homogenization; Hydrogeology; Inductively coupled plasma; Iron; Irrigation; Leaching; Lead; Loam; Loam soils; Manures; Metals; Nickel; Okra; Pesticides; Sandy loam; Sandy soils; Soil; Soil layers; Soil profiles; Soil properties; Soil Science & Conservation; Sprinkler systems; Water Quality/Water Pollution; Zinc; Vietnam; Vietnam; Leaching; Metal accumulation; Sandy loam soil; Okra
• ISSN: 0049-6979; 1573-2932
• DOI: 10.1007/s11270-025-08429-6

Assessment of metal mobility in soil as one of main factors affecting metal uptake in food crops is a subject of great interest. The downward movement of Cd, Pb, Ni, Cr, Co, Fe, Cu, and Zn in cultivated soil layer and their accumulation in different parts of the Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench, 1794 (okra plant), cultivated in the highly leaching sandy loam soil in Phuoc Dong, Nha Trang, Vietnam was investigated. The metal content in soils and plants was determined using an Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission spectrometer. The measured data were used to quantitatively assess the following: (1) metals runoff from the cultivated soil layer (0–20 cm) due to leaching; (2) enrichment of metals in the soil profile at a depth of approximately 20 cm; (3) residual metals from additives retained in the soil after the crop season. The metal content in the cultivated soil layer after harvesting was lower than the corresponding values before planting. These values were at the lower limit of ranges reported in other studies and below standard guideline values, even though soil had been continuously explored for many years. Accumulation of the majority of the elements (Cd, Co, Cr, Pb, Fe, and Zn) in the edible parts of the okra most was very low. The Target Hazard Quotient for each metal, as well as the overall Hazard Index for all studied metals were below 1.0, suggesting that average daily consumption of okra fruits does not pose a significant health risk to humans.