Soil infertility is a global problem, amendments such as organic fertilizers and mineral fertilizers are used to improve crop yields. However, these fertilizers contain heavy metals as well as essential mineral elements. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of organic and inorganic fertilizer on the accumulation and health risk of heavy metals in tubers. The plants were cultivated at an altitude of 3970 m using four treatments (poultry manure, alpaca manure, island guano and inorganic fertilizer) and a control group. Soil contamination levels and the degree of metal accumulation in the tubers were also determined. As a result, it was found that the use of inorganic fertilizer and poultry manure increased the values of Cu and Zn in soils, exceeding the recommended standards. The accumulation of heavy metals in potato tubers did not exceed the maximum recommended limits...

Heavy metal contamination of soil and agricultural products is an environmental problem, has an adverse effect on the quality of food crops, and is a danger to food security and public health. The concentration of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) in surface soils and edible hypocotyls tissues of two ecotypes of Lepidium meyenii Walpers (maca) was evaluated in three districts of the Junín province, Peru. In addition, the risk to human health due to exposure to heavy metals from maca consumption was evaluated. Soil samples and maca hypocotyls were collected in areas influenced by mining and metallurgical activity. The mean concentration of Cd (0.32 ± 0.23 mg/kg) and Pb (0.20 ± 0.12 mg/kg) in maca samples exceeded the values established by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization. The bioconcentration factor was less than 1. Th...

The heavy metal accumulation in the sediment and removal efficiency in stabilization ponds with Hydrocotyle ranunculoides filter were evaluated. Sediment and water were sampled in June, July and August 2018. The sediment sampling for each lagoon was conducted at three sites forming a composite sample. The water samples were collected in the tributary and effluent pipelines to determine the heavy metal concentration and removal efficiency by Hydrocotyle ranunculoides. The determination of heavy metals was performed with the method of atomic flame absorption spectrophotometry. The mean concentration of heavy metals in the sediment, in a descending order, was: Fe > Zn > Pb > Cu > Cd. The concentrations of these metals ranged from 998.0 to 1365.02, from 488.01 to 600.30, from 88.23 to 95.01, from 1.47 to 1.53 and from 0.01 to 0.13 mg/Kg, respectively. In the four stabilization ponds, the pol...

In this study, the quality of sediment and surface water in two natural wetlands, Paca and Tragadero, in the central region of Peru was evaluated using pollution indices, including the geoaccumulation index, pollutant load index, modified pollution degree, potential ecological risk index, and site rank index, for four heavy metals. Principal component analysis was used to identify potential metal contaminant sources. The determination of Fe, Zn, Pb, and As was performed by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The average concentrations of metals in the sediments of both lagoons decreased in the order Fe > Zn > Pb > As. The analysis of the contamination indices determined that As and Pb are the elements that contribute the most to environmental degradation in both wetlands. There is a strong correlation between the values of potential ecological risk and the modified degree of conta...

The success of reforestation and restoration projects depends on several factors, with proper seedling management and the selection of an appropriate planting area being crucial. In Peru, the populations of Retrophyllum rospigliosii (Pilg.) C.N.Page (Ulcumano) have been decreasing due to intensive logging of one of the most valuable woods in South America's tropical forests. There are few studies that unify the production of plants through seeds in nurseries and the identification of suitable areas to place the plants produced. Our study has two components. The first aimed to optimize the plant production process through an experiment that evaluated the effects of three doses of controlled-release fertilizer (CRF) (4.2, 8.4, and 12.6 g/L) and two container sizes (115 and 180 cc) on the morphological quality of seedlings in the nursery. The second component involved identifying potential ...