Availability and Uptake of Potentially Toxic Elements by Rice as Influenced by Innovative Agronomic Techniques

Considering the growing attention to food safety and the need of more sustainable agricultural practices, this project explores the impact of innovative strategies emerging in Italian rice farming on the concentration of potentially toxic elements (PTEs: As, Cd, Ni) in rice grain, starting from the mechanisms regulating their retention/dissolution within paddy soil up to the their plant uptake and translocation into the rice grain. The effects of cover crop introduction and water management techniques on the biogeochemicals processes that modulate PTEs bioavailability will be investigated through mesocosm experiments and lab trials, with focus on soil-plant dynamic interactions.