Assessment of cadmium and its impact on the uptake efficiency of Phosphate fertilizers by Amaranthus tricolour

Phosphorus is a most essential plant nutrient; its deficiency in soils is severely affecting the growth of crop production. A batch mode RBD (Randomized block design) study was carried out to assess the efficiency of water and citric acid soluble various phosphate fertilizers in soils and their uptake efficiency by using the plant, Amaranthus tricolour variety. The various soil samples are analyzed before and after the application of fertilizer. The leaf (green and dry) samples of the plant at two different growth stages (20 & 35 days) of plant and dry matter production (20 & 35 days) of plant were collected, analyzed, calculated and expressed in t/ha. The performance of each fertilizer and their efficiency were assessed by applying various quantities of phosphate fertilizers and its results of the study showed that the presence of toxic metals like cadmium in the soils has been reduces nutrient uptake capacity of the plant considerably. This trend was increases with the accumulation of more stable forms of cadmium in the soil. The observed results indicate that the uptake efficiency of phosphate fertilizers increases with applying very high quantity of phosphate in the presence of cadmium. The action of cadmium is seen at the whole plant level in reduced growth.