Crop Response and Arsenic Uptake Following Soil Incorporation of MSMA

Abstract

Five crops were grown for three seasons following a single soil-incorporated application of MSMA (monosodium methanearsonate). Crop sensitivity to soil arsenic decreased as follows: snap beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris L. ‘Early Gallatin’ and ‘Tenderette’); rice ( Oryza sativa L. ‘Dawn’ and ‘Starbonnet’); soybeans [ Glycine max (L.) Merr. ‘Lee 68′]; potatoes ( Solarium tuberosum L. ‘Red LaSoda’ and ‘Red Pontiac’); and cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L. ‘Stoneville 7A’). Over the 3-yr period, yield of snap beans was reduced 8, 14, and 85% below the untreated check where MSMA had been incorporated initially at 22, 45, and 269 kg/ha, respectively. Similar reductions in yield of rice were 18, 25, and 55%. Soybean and potato yields were significantly reduced only at the highest rate of MSMA while cotton yields were unaffected. Arsenic content in the edible portion of the crops decreased as follows: rice, snap beans, potatoes, soybeans, and cotton. The arsenic content in crops from the highest MSMA plots seldom exceeded twice that from the untreated plots.