Assessment of Arsenic Accumulation by Different Varieties of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Irrigated with Arsenic-contaminated Groundwater in West Bengal (India)

A study was conducted to investigate the bioaccumulation of arsenic by twelve different high yielding, hybrid and local rice varieties, cultivated in the Nadia district, West Bengal (India). The results showed that rice plant accumulated arsenic from irrigation water but, the magnitude of accumulation was found to vary with the rice varieties. Some of the examined rice varieties (like IET 4094, IR 50, etc) were noticed to be higher accumulator of arsenic (0.49 ± 0.05−0.59 ± 0.09 mg/kg dry weight) with respect to other varieties like Gaurishankar, Saltora, etc, which were detected to be comparatively low accumulator (0.15 ± 0.03−0.25 ± 0.01 mg/kg dry weight). While significant correlation (r = 0.9−0.92) was observed between arsenic concentrations in rice husk and grain parts, an appreciable low efficiency (TF = 0.08−0.19) was noticed in translocation of arsenic from root to straw.