Field Assessment of Arsenic Uptake in Durum Wheat (<i>Triticum durum</i> Desf.) as Influenced by Soil Tillage Practices and Fertilization Source in Mediterranean Environment
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Nowadays, Arsenic accumulation in agricultural soils and its transfer in crop yields is representing a growing concern that threat to food safety and security in Mediterranean environment. Soil tillage and fertilization may increase the accumulation of Arsenic in plant tissues, therefore, there is the need to develop sustainable agronomical practices able to support crop yield while mitigate As accumulation. The current study carried out in a 7-year long-term experiment with the aim to evaluate As uptake by different plant parts of durum wheat. The experimental treatments are: (i) three soil tillage practices (plowing, subsoiling and spading) and (ii) two fertilization methods (mineral and organic). A factorial randomized complete block design with three replications was adopted. The experimental period refers to the 2018/2019, 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 growing seasons. The results suggested that the maximum level of Arsenic was found in plant roots and minimum was found in wheat kernels. The chemical fertilization as 2020×Mineral (1.522 mg As kg-1 d.m) and 2020×Plowing (1.855 mg As kg-1 d.m) had the maximum Arsenic content in roots. Conversely, the level of Arsenic content was minimum in wheat kernels for organic fertilization as 2021×Organic (0.012 mg As kg-1 d.m) and subsoiling tillage as 2021×Subsoiling (0.008 mg As kg-1 d.m.). Moreover, the application of organic fertilization source, as a tool for enhancing the soil organic matter content also significantly decreased the Arsenic level. The results suggests that reduced tillage practices and adoption of organic amendment could be identified as sustainable agronomic practices in agri-food systems able to improve the quality and assure a safe consumption of wheat kernels. Further studies will be required to evaluate the effectiveness of these agronomical practices also in other crops.