The Relative Contributions of Different Wheat Leaves to the Grain Cadmium Accumulation

Abstract

In the context of increasing atmospheric particles pollution, wheat cadmium (Cd) pollution caused by atmospheric deposition in agro-ecosystems has attracted increasing attention. However, the relative contribution of different wheat leaves-to-grain Cd accumulation is still unclear. We assessed the roles of different wheat leaves on grain Cd accumulation with field-comparative experiments during the filling stage. Results show that wheat leaves can direct uptake atmospheric Cd through stomata, and the flag leaf exhibited a higher Cd concentration compared to other leaves. The relative contribution of the leaves-to-grain Cd accumulation decreased gradually during the grain-filling period, from 34.44% reaching 14.48%, indicating that the early grain-filling period is the critical period for leaf Cd contributions. Moreover, the relative contribution of flag leaves (7.27%) to grain Cd accumulation was larger than that of the sum of other leaves (7.21%) at maturity. Therefore, the flag leaf is the key leaf involved in grain Cd accumulation, and controlling the transport of Cd from leaves to grains at the early filling period, particularly flag leaf, could help to ensure wheat grain safety, thus ensuring the safety of food production.