Grapevine leaf uptake of mineral elements influenced by sugar foam amendment of an acidic soil

Abstract

The use of sugar foam (industrial waste from sugar beet extraction) as an acidic soil (raña) liming agent has been studied in a singular winegrowing region. The contents of the major elements (Al, Ca, Fe, K, Na, Mg, S, Si) and trace elements (As, Ba, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Ga, Hf, La, Mo, Nb, Nd, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sc, Sn, Sr, Ta, Th, U, V, W, Y, Zn, Zr) in the original soil, the amended soil and in grapevine leaves has been measured by X-ray fluorescence. The addition of sugar foam modified the agronomic properties of the original soil. The amendment caused a slight increase in major elements (Ca, 10.4 g·kg^-1; Mg, 1.9 g·kg^-1 and K, 12.9 g·kg^-1) and decreased Al (from 62 to 57.8 g·kg^-1) and Fe (from 41.2 to 26.5 g·kg^-1) content. Regarding trace elements, there was an increase in levels of Ba, Rb and Sr in the amended soil in comparison to the original soil. The major elements that accumulated in the vine leaf were Ca, Mg and S (Biological Absorption Coefficient, BAC, greater than 1). As for trace elements in leaf, Ba and Sr had a "medium" BAC (0.27 and 0.8, respectively) whereas Rb had a "slight"value (0.08). It is worth noting that the bioaccumulation rate of Zn was greater than 1. The use of sugar foam as a liming agent did not have a negative effect on the absorption of major and trace elements in vine leaves and led to improved BAC values for essential elements in the grapevine. The treatment did not increase the amount of trace elements in the soil above the reference levels for the region.