Plant and Soil Arsenic Analyses

Abstract

Neutron-activation analyses of arsenic were reproducibly quantitative at 10 ng As and might be extended as low as 3 ng As with extended counting periods. The method was tested on soil and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L., var. Atlas 67) leaves treated with repeated applications of monosodium methanearsonate (MSMA). Leaves from untreated plants contained 55 ng As/g whereas leaves from treated plants showed higher levels of arsenic. Translocation of As was demonstrated and analysis of arsenic in the soil was valid.