Effect of fly ash on the availability of Zn, Cu, Ni and Cd to chicory

Chicory (Cichorium Intybus) was grown in two soils, at pH 5.7 and 7.0, respectively; the soils were augmented with fly-ash and/or metals as salts. In acid soil the ash addition caused a decrease of Zn, Cu, Cd and Ni concentration for all treatments; for neutral soil this was true for Zn, but for Cu and Cd, only for treatments with salts. The added metals are more available to plants than those naturally occurring in soils. Extractions carried out with ethylene diamine tetra acetate (EDTA) pH 4.65 or diethyltriaminepentaacetic (DTPA) pH 7.3 showed no variation in extractable metal concentration over time. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.