The Arkansas-based study showed that repeated mid-season soil aeration events significantly reduced arsenic concentrations in rice grain without increasing cadmium levels, providing field-scale evidence that water management can help mitigate arsenic accumulation.
The Center for Produce Safety-funded project aims to generate practical guidance for produce growers, including improved sampling approaches to determine whether groundwater is influenced by surface water, and immediately actionable recommendations for mitigating microbial contamination and biofilms in irrigation systems.
With funding from the Center for Produce Safety, a researcher from the University of Arizona is exploring the usefulness of a handheld genetic sequencing device for in-field microbial characterization of irrigation water by the produce industry.
