| Summary: | Rice is a main staple crop in Asia, where arsenic (As) contamination poses a significant
threat. This issue is particularly acute in South Asia as their communities rely heavily on
Asian rice for daily sustenance. Arsenic contamination in rice often originates from
contaminated irrigation sources. One strategy to mitigate this is to utilise a water-tolerant
rice variety, known as Hanyou-73 (HY-73), which can reduce irrigation required and hence
contact of the crops with arsenic. However, one big issue is that water conditions can affect
the nutrients available in the soil, and hence, the availability of nutrients that can be uptaken
by the rice for optimal growth. To address this challenge, biochar is introduced to solve this
issue. Biochar can not only supply nutrients but also retain water. The hypothesis is that
biochar can provide essential nutrients to support rice growth in water-limited conditions.
The objective of the experiment was to determine which combination of two factors, biochar
and water content, would result in the lowest accumulation of arsenic, and to identify which
factor had a greater impact. The results were obtained using advanced analytical
instruments, such as inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). It was shown
that the HY-73 variety was indeed able to tolerate non-flooding conditions and grow
optimally. The analysis revealed that water content had a significant impact on the arsenic
accumulation as it presented an optimal growth environment for the rice. The higher the
water content, the lower the arsenic accumulation, especially in flooded conditions.
However, biochar had irregular results, having less of an impact on the arsenic accumulation
in rice.
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