Development of a Manitoba Soils Test for Cadmium (Cd)

Crop Soybean
Start Date2011
End Date2012
Principal InvestigatorMorrison, Malcolm , Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
MPSG Financial Support$53,072
Total Project Funding$105,072

Research Objectives

  1. Collect soil and soybean seed samples from farms in the affected regions of Manitoba
  2. Analyze samples for Cd concentration and develop the relationship between available soil Cd and accumulated seed Cd
  3. Identification of commercial laboratories in Manitoba capable and interested in determining Cd concentration in soil

Project Description

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic metal that has been identified in many crops in Canada in several important crop production regions. When consumed, Cd binds to mammalian tissues, particularly the liver and kidney, and in high doses causes organ failure and cancer. A limit of 200 ppb has been proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) for export grains. AAFC research in Manitoba from 2005 has established that in certain regions of the province (Morden, Carmen, Portage la Prairie), some soybean varieties accumulated up to 4 to 5 times the WHO allowable limit while in other regions (Winnipeg) the concentration of the same variety was less than 200 ppb. Cadmium uptake is affected by the genetics of the variety and the amount of Cd in the soil. An AAFC soybean breeding program has been initiated to breed low accumulating food-quality soybean varieties for Manitoba.

In the summer of 2010, a visiting delegation of Japanese soybean re-sellers remarked that soybean from Manitoba had tested very high for Cd concentration; therefore, export markets are aware of this problem. The first step in establishing a food quality market for Manitoba soybean is reducing the Cd concentration in seed grown in the major production areas.

Preliminary work has shown that there is a very good relationship between soil and seed cadmium concentration. It is now time to take the soils test from the research station to the farm field. Soil and seed from farms in Manitoba must be collected and analyzed for Cd concentration. A crop advisor, working in consultation with AAFC, MPSG and the province will sample selected fields for soil and grain which will be analyzed for Cd concentration to prove the relationship at the farm level. By supplying farmers with a soils test for Cd, they can determine if their fields will produce soybean high in Cd and can select appropriate low Cd accumulating varieties. This is the first step towards reducing Cd concentration in Manitoba food quality soybean.

Year 1 Report
Year 2 Report