Retarding fluoride accumulation in Amaranthes viridis through liming and implications of phosphorous treatment

With an objective to retard fluoride being taken up by the plants from soil, a study was carried out on Amaranthes viridis. Four groups of treatment were carried out vis-à-vis fluoride alone, fluoride and calcium, fluoride and phosphorous and fluoride, calcium and phosphorous together at three different concentration levels vis-à-vis 1, 10 and 25 mg/kg soil of each. Sampling was carried out first on day 45 and at the end of reproductive phase on leaf and seed for accumulation of fluoride in the plants. It was observed that fluoride accumulation in plants could be averted through soil amendment by calcium treatment in the form of calcium carbonate thereby reducing the risk of human and livestock exposure to abnormal levels of fluoride through food chain other than protecting plants from getting affected. At the same time, fertilizing the soil contaminated with fluoride by superphosphate would aggravate fluoride accumulation and exacerbate fluorosis problem in human and livestock through food chain. Therefore it is recommended to use acid water-soluble orthophosphate or anhydrous dicalcium phosphate or soluble pyrophosphate fertilizers as an alternative.