Received for publication: 17 April, 2015. Accepted for publication: 17 November, 2015. Doi: 10.15446/agron.colomb.v33n3.50237 1 Department of Agronomy, Faculty of agriculture, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University. Dhaka (Bangladesh). sumon2539@gmail.com Agronomía Colombiana 33(3), 315-321, 2015 Yield reduction and arsenic accumulation in potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) in an arsenic contaminated soil Reducción en el rendimiento y acumulación de arsénico en papa (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivada en suelos contaminados con arsénico Md. Nazmul Haque1, Md. Hazrat Ali1, Tuhin Suvra Roy1, Sheikh Muhammad Masum1, and Imtiaz Faruk Chowdhury1 ABSTRACT RESUMEN The different levels of arsenic (As) had a significant effect on the yield, yield reduction and As accumulation of different potato varieties. The yield was negatively affected by the As contami- nation and decreased with the increasing As levels in the soil, but remained statistically similar up to 25 mg kg-1 soil of As and thereafter drastically decreased with the increasing As levels. The yield reduction (%) and accumulation of As in the tuber peels and f lesh increased with the increasing As levels. Among the fourteen potato varieties, ‘Felsina’ had the maximum yield and showed the lowest percentage of yield reduction; ‘Jam alu’ and ‘Cardinal’ accumulated the least amount of As in their peels and f lesh, respectively. Among the treatment combina- tions, ‘Felsina’ cultivated in an As-free soil had the highest yield/plant (454.8 g fresh weight). ‘Laura’ grown in 25 mg kg-1 soil of As showed the lowest yield reduction (%). Although ‘Jam alu’ and ‘Cardinal’ produced a slightly lower yield compared to some other varieties, these two varieties accumulated the least amount of As, both in the peels and f lesh, when grown in 25 mg kg-1 soil of As. Los diferentes niveles de arsénico (As) tuvieron efecto sig- nificativo sobre el rendimiento al disminuir la producción y acumularse el As en las diferentes variedades de papa. El ren- dimiento fue negativamente afectado por la contaminación de suelo con As observándose una reducción de la producción con el incremento de As en el suelo. No se encontraron diferencias significativas en el rendimiento hasta 25 mg kg-1 As en el suelo pero en mayores cantidades el rendimiento se redujo drásti- camente. El rendimiento fue reducido, se acumuló el As en la cáscara y en la pulpa del tubérculo en la medida que aumentaba el nivel As en el suelo. Entre las 14 variedades evaluadas, ‘Fel- sina’ presentó el máximo rendimiento y, ‘Jamalu’ y ‘Cardinal’ la menor acumulación de As tanto en cáscara como en pulpa del tubérculo. Entre los diferentes tratamientos, ‘Felsina’ se obtuvo el máximo rendimiento en un suelo sin As con 454,8 g peso fresco/planta, mientras ‘Laura’ presentó la menor reducción del rendimiento cuando en el suelo tenía 25 mg kg-1 de As. Aunque ‘Jamalu’ y ‘Cardinal’ presentaron el mejor rendimiento frente a las otras variedades, fueron las que mayor acumulación de As presentaron tanto en cáscara como en pulpa del tubérculo cuando fueron cultivadas en suelo con 25 mg kg-1 de As. Key words: heavy metals, semimetals, soil pollution, tubers, yield losses, cultivar selection, Bangladesh. Palabras clave: metales pesados, semimetales, contaminación del suelo, tubérculos, pérdidas de rendimiento, selección de cultivares, Bangladés. (Norra et al., 2005; Huang et al., 2006; Dahal et al., 2008; Brammer, 2009; Meharg et al., 2009; Bhattacharya et al., 2010a, b; Roberts et al., 2011). Uptake of arsenic by plants and its translocation to different plant parts vary within the plant, even among the cultivars of the same crop (Pillai et al., 2010). The accumulation of As in plants occurs primarily through the root system and the highest As con- centrations have been reported in plant roots and tubers (Marin et al., 1993). Therefore, tuber crops are expected to have higher As contents than other crops when grown in As contaminated soils as the root system is the main part that accumulates As in plants. In the case of vegetables, Introduction Arsenic is a highly toxic and carcinogenic environmental pollutant and, thus, its presence in groundwater and agri- cultural field soil is of great concern all around the world (Rahman et al., 2007a). Out of 20 countries in different parts of the world where groundwater arsenic contamina- tion and human suffering have been reported, the high- est magnitude is found in Bangladesh, followed by West Bengal, India (Sanyal, 2005). Recent studies suggest that a number of crops and veg- etable plant species accumulate significant amount of As http://dx.doi.org/10.15446/agron.colomb.v33n3.50237 mailto:sumon2539@gmail.com 316 Agron. Colomb. 33(3) 2015 the higher As accumulation was observed in potato, arum, amaranth, radish, lady’s finger, caulif lower, and brinjal, whereas the lower level of As accumulation was observed in beans, green chili, tomato, bitter guard, and turmeric, etc. due to the As-contaminated irrigation water (Santra et al., 2013). Mandal and Suzuki (2002), in their study on arsenic around the world, reported that the arsenic con- centration in plants varied from less than 0.01 to about 5.0 mg kg-1. From their study in Bangladesh, Das et al. (2004) reported that the concentrations of arsenic in vegetables, such as Colocasia antiquorum, Solanum tuberosum, and Ipomea reptans exceeded the food safety limits of 1.0 mg kg-1 (Abedin et al., 2002). Irrigation water with high levels of As may result in land degradation in terms of crop production (loss of yield) and food safety (food chain contamination) (Duxbury and Za- vala, 2005). Hence, plants sensitive to As show patterns of toxicity, such as decreases in growth and yield (Meharg and Hartley-Whitaker, 2002). Khan et al. (2010) found that the addition of As, in either irrigation water or soil, resulted in yield reductions of from 21 to 74% in Boro rice (dry season) and had a strong residual effect on subsequent crops. The potato (S. tuberosum L.) is grown in nearly 150 coun- tries and is the world’s single most important tuber crop with a vital role in the global food system and food secu- rity (Singh, 2010). Bangladesh was the world’s 7th largest producer of potatoes with a total production of about 8.8 million t in 2012 to 2013 (FAOSTAT, 2013). Potato con- sumption as processed and fresh food is also increasing considerable in Bangladesh (Brown, 2005). People living in As affected areas are consuming contaminated potatoes that creates serious health problems. With this in mind, our research aimed to study the effect of As on the yield reduction of fourteen popular potato varieties and the As accumulation pattern in tuber peels and f lesh. Materials and methods Location and plant material This study was carried out at the Sher-e-Bangla Agricultu- ral University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, located at 23°77᾿N and 90°37᾿E at an altitude of 8.6 m.a.s.l., from November 10, 2012 to February 18, 2013. The average air temperature and precipitation during the growth of the potato crop were 15.57 to 26.27°C and 30.25 mm, respectively. The soil of the experimental site was silt loam in texture, with a pH of 6.4, 0.68% organic carbon, 800 mg kg-1 of total nitrogen, 10.99 mg kg-1 of available phosphorus, 19.5 mg kg-1 of available potassium and 10.5 mg kg-1 of available sulfur. Fourteen potato varieties: Diamant, Cardinal, Asterix, Granola, Lady Rosetta, Courage, BARI TPS-1, Meridian, Felsina, Laura, Quincy, Sagitta,Rumana, and Jam Alu and three arsenic levels of 0, 25 and 50 mg kg-1 soil of As were selected for this experiment. Soil arsenic treatment Alam and Sattar (2000) reported that the soils collected from different locations in Bangladesh had elevated As concentrations, up to 57 mg kg-1. However, Kabata- Pendias and Pendias (1992) recommended 20 mg kg-1 as the safe level for As in agricultural soils. Sodium meta- arsenate (Na2HAsO4.7H2O) was used as the source of As in the soil, according to the treatment. Yield reduction (%) Yield reduction was calculated with the following Eq. 1: Yield reduction (%) = YC – YT × 100 (1) YC where, YC = Yield/plant in As free soil and YT = Yield/ plant in As contaminated soil Chemical analysis After harvesting, samples were collected and dried. Tu- bers were washed and peeled with a mechanical peeler to obtain uniformity in thickness (2 mm) of the peel. The dried samples were smashed with a mortar and pastel machine. Then, a chemical analysis was done to find out the uptake amount. This analysis was done in the Bangla- desh Council of Scientific Research Institute (BCSRI). The chemical analysis to determine the total As concentration in the plant samples was done with an atomic absorption spectrophotometer where argon was used as the carrier gas and As was melted at 925ºC. Statistical analysis The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Duncan’s multiple range test for the varia- bles at a 5% level of probability were conducted using the MSTAT-C program (Gomez and Gomez, 1984). Results and discussion Tuber yield per plant The biomass production and y ield of crop varieties are reduced significantly at elevated As concentrations (Carbonell-Barrachina et al., 1997). An application of only 50 mg kg-1 soil of As significantly decreased the yields of 317Haque, Ali, Roy, Masum, and Chowdhury: Yield reduction and arsenic accumulation in potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) in an arsenic contaminated soil barley and rye grass (Jiang and Singh, 1994). An applica- tion of 25 mg kg-1 soil of As did not have negative effects on potato yield when compared to a control (Tab. 1). At higher concentrations, As interfered with plant metabolic processes, resulting in a loss of yield and fruit production and morphological changes when plants were grown in As treated soils (Srivastava et al., 2009). The highest tuber yield/plant (426.2 g fresh weight-FW) was obtained from the ‘Felsina’ variety, which was statistically similar to ‘Dia- mant’ and ‘Asterix’, while the lowest one (77.15 g FW) was found with ‘Jam Alu’. The yields of the different cultivars of potato were significantly different from each other, as reported by Kundu et al. (2012a). A similar trend of yield performance was also reported by Hossain (2011), Dhar et al. (2009) and Das (2006). The probable reason for the yield variation was due to the heredity of the variety. On the other hand, the highest tuber yield/plant (334.6 g FW) was recorded with the control, which was sta- tistically similar to 25 mg kg-1 soil of As and the lowest (247.3 g FW) was recorded with 50 mg kg-1 soil of As. Carbonell-Barrachina et al. (1998) and Gulz (1999) ob- served that yield increases with small additions of As for corn, potatoes, rye and wheat. The tuber yield/plant was significantly inf luenced by the effect from the varieties and As levels interaction. Among the treatments, the highest tuber/plant yield was observed in ‘Felsina’ with the control (454.80 g), which was statistically similar to ‘Felsina’ and 25 mg kg-1 soil of As, ‘Diamant’ and the control, ‘Diamant’ and 25 mg kg-1 soil of As, ‘Asterix’ and the control and ‘Asterix’ and 25 mg kg-1 soil of As; whereas, the lowest (34.50 g FW) was seen with ‘Jam Alu’ and 50 mg kg-1 soil of As (Tab. 2). Percentage yield reduction The high rates of As application were closely related to the reduction of crop yield (Woolson et al., 1971) and the increase in As concentration in the plants (Thoresby and Thornton, 1979). ‘Jam alu’ showed the highest yield reduction (23.69%) and the lowest one was observed with ‘Felsina’ (6.29%), which was statistically similar to that TABLE 1. Effect of variety and As level on the yield, yield reduction and As content in the peels and flesh of the potato varieties. Variety Tuber yield/plant (g FW) Percentage of yield reduction As content in tuber peels (mg kg-1 DW) As content in tuber flesh (mg kg-1 DW) Diamant 408.1 ab 7.69 ef 2.590 ef 0.104 d Cardinal 370.0 c 8.89 de 2.583 ef 0.100 d Asterix 394.6 b 7.38 ef 2.657 c-e 0.127 cd Granola 258.4 g 11.10 cd 2.657 c-e 0.124 cd Lady Rosetta 336.4 de 7.91 ef 2.598 d-f 0.116 cd Courage 309.8 f 9.00 de 2.748 b 0.174 ab BARI TPS-1 262.8 g 10.94 cd 2.553 f 0.129 cd Meridian 359.7 cd 8.38 ef 2.654 c-e 0.124 cd Felsina 426.2 a 6.29 f 2.678 b-d 0.147 bc Laura 363.4 c 8.14 ef 2.701 bc 0.173 ab Quincy 138.2 i 17.39 b 2.654 c-e 0.126 cd Sagitta 330.8 ef 8.64 ef 2.922 a 0.187 a Rumana 216.0 h 11.84 c 2.946 a 0.189 a Jam Alu 77.15 j 23.69 a 2.309 g 0.108 d SE value 8.481 0.739 0.026 0.0105 Level of significance ** ** ** ** As levels in the soil (mg kg-1) 0 334.6 a 0.00 c 0.00 c 0.000 c 25 329.1 a 1.98 b 1.985 b 0.178 b 50 247.3 b 29.58 a 5.997 a 0.236 a SE value 3.926 0.342 0.012 0.0049 Level of significance ** ** ** ** ** significant at P≤0.01. Means with different letters in each column indicate significant differences according to the Duncan’s multiple range test (P≤0.05). 318 Agron. Colomb. 33(3) 2015 TABLE 2. Variety and As level interaction effect on the yield, yield reduction and As content in the peels and flesh of the potato varieties. Variety× As level in soil (mg kg-1) Tuber yield/plant(gFW) Percentage of yield reduction As content in tuber peels (mg kg-1 DW) As content in tuber flesh (mg kg-1 DW) ‘Diamant’ 0 442.1 a-c 0.00 h 0.00 m 0.000 m 25 436.1a-d 1.36 gh 1.883 jk 0.130 kl 50 346.0 i-l 21.71 de 5.887 d-f 0.183 e-k ‘Cardinal’ 0 405.9 b-g 0.00 h 0.00 m 0.000 m 25 399.0 c-h 1.75 gh 1.873 jk 0.120 l 50 305.0 l-o 24.92 de 5.877 ef 0.180 e-l ‘Asterix’ 0 426.0 a-e 0.00 h 0.00 m 0.000 m 25 421.4 a-f 1.08 gh 1.980 ij 0.160 g-l 50 336.4 k-n 21.06 ef 5.990 c-e 0.220 c-g ‘Granola’ 0 292.2 n-q 0.00 h 0.00 m 0.000 m 25 286.2 o-q 2.30 gh 1.977 jk 0.157 h-l 50 196.8 tu 31.00 c 5.993 c-e 0.217 c-h ‘Lady Rosetta’ 0 365.3 g-k 0.00 h 0.00 m 0.000 m 25 359.4 g-k 1.63 gh 1.890 jk 0.143 i-l 50 284.6 o-r 22.11 de 5.903 d-f 0.203 c-i ‘Courage’ 0 340.3 j-m 0.00 h 0.00 m 0.000 m 25 334.8 k-n 1.64 gh 2.110 i 0.233 b-e 50 254.3 p-r 25.35 d 6.133 b 0.290 ab ‘BARI TPS-1’ 0 295.0 m-p 0.00 h 0.00 m 0.000 m 25 290.8 n-q 1.44 gh 1.823 k 0.163 f-l 50 202.5 s-u 31.38 c 5.837 f 0.223 c-f ‘Meridian’ 0 392.2 d-i 0.00 h 0.00 m 0.000 m 25 386.3 e-j 1.57 gh 1.977 ij 0.157 h-l 50 300.5 l-p 23.57 de 5.987 c-e 0.217 c-h ‘Felsina’ 0 454.8 a 0.00 h 0.00 m 0.000 m 25 448.8 ab 1.32 gh 2.010 ij 0.193 c-j 50 374.9 f-k 17.56 f 6.023 b-d 0.247 b-d ‘Laura’ 0 395.7 c-h 0.00 h 0.00 m 0.000 m 25 392.0 d-i 0.96 gh 2.043 i 0.233 b-e 50 302.6 l-p 23.47 de 6.060 bc 0.287 ab ‘Quincy’ 0 167.3 u 0.00 h 0.00 m 0.000 m 25 161.4 u 3.52 gh 1.977 ij 0.160 g-l 50 86.01 v 48.65 b 5.987 c-e 0.217 c-h ‘Sagitta’ 0 362.2 g-k 0.00 h 0.00 m 0.00 m 25 356.3 h-k 1.66 gh 2.377 h 0.250 b-d 50 274.1 o-r 24.26 de 6.390 a 0.310 a ‘Rumana’ 0 245.0 q-s 0.00 h 0.00 m 0.000 m 25 239.2 r-t 2.39 gh 2.410 h 0.253 bc 50 163.9 u 33.14 c 6.427 a 0.313 a ‘Jam Alu’ 0 101.0 v 0.00 h 0.00 m 0.000 m 25 95.90 v 5.12 g 1.457 l 0.133 j-l 50 34.50 w 65.96 a 5.470 g 0.190 d-k SE value 14.69 1.279 0.045 0.0183 Level of significance ** ** ** ** ** significant at P ≤0.01. Means with different letters in each column indicate significant differences according to the Duncan’s multiple range test (P≤0.05). 319Haque, Ali, Roy, Masum, and Chowdhury: Yield reduction and arsenic accumulation in potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) in an arsenic contaminated soil in ‘Asterix’, ‘Diamant’, ‘Lady rosetta’, ‘Laura’, ‘Meridian’, and ‘Sagitta’, while the yield was further reduced with increasing As levels (Tab. 1). The highest yield reduction (29.58%) was recorded with 50 mg kg-1 soil of As and the lowest one (1.98%) was recorded with 25 mg kg-1 soil of As. Among the treatment combinations, the highest yield reduction was observed with ‘Jam Alu’ and 50 mg kg-1 soil of As (65.96%) and the lowest one was found with ‘Laura’ and 25 mg kg-1 soil of As, which was statistically similar to the 25 mg kg-1 soil of As treatment in all of the varieties (Tab. 2). Carbonell-Barrachina et al. (1997) reported that, in beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), yield showed a higher reduction of 84% as compared to controls when As was present in the growth solutions. Arsenic content in tuber peels The As content in tuber peels varied significantly due to the varieties and/or As levels. The maximum As accu- mulation of the tuber peels was recorded in the ‘Rumana’ variety (2.946 mg kg-1), followed by ‘Sagitta’, whereas, the lowest amount of As was observed in the ‘Jam Alu’ variety (2.31 mg kg-1) (Tab. 1). Rahman et al. (2007b) and Kundu et al. (2012a) reported that the As concentration that was considered toxic varied widely with plant genotypes, pro- bably due to varietal differences in As translocation and the phyto-extraction or phyto-morphological potential of the varieties. Table 1 shows that the As accumulation in the tuber peels increased with increasing As levels. The highest As accumulation in the tuber peels (5.997 mg kg-1) was recorded with the 50 mg kg-1 soil of As treatment; whereas, the lowest one was accumulated with 25 mg kg-1 soil of As (1.985 mg kg-1). No As was detected in the control treatment. Pyles and Woolson (1982) found 3.00 mg kg-1As in potato peels when the soil was treated with 100 mg kg-1As. As appears to accumulate preferentially in potato peels (Roychowdhury et al., 2002; Warren et al., 2003), either because tubers are able to absorb As from the surrounding soil or because soil particles adhered to the tuber surface have not been completely cleaned. The results of the treatment combinations revealed that the maximum As accumulation in the tuber peels (6.427 mg kg-1) was recorded with ‘Rumana’ grown with 50 mg kg-1 soil of As, which was statistically similar to the combination of ‘Sagitta’ and 50 mg kg-1 soil of As; whereas, the lowest accumulation (1.457 mg kg-1) was seen with ‘Jam Alu’ and 25 mg kg-1 soil of As (Tab. 2). Arsenic content in tuber flesh The different potato tuber varieties accumulated different amounts of arsenic in the edible parts (Kundu et al., 2012b). However, the potato tubers, despite being an underground part (a modified stem), contained relatively lower amounts of As (Adak and Mandal, 1999). ‘Rumana’ accumulated the maximum amount of As in the tuber f lesh (0.189 mg kg-1), which was statistically similar to ‘Sagitta’, ‘Courage’, ‘Laura’ and ‘Felsina’; whereas, the least amount of As accumulation was observed in the Cardinal variety (0.100 mg kg-1), which was statistically identical with ‘Diamant’ and ‘Jam Alu’, where the As content of tuber f lesh increased with the in- creasing As levels (Tab. 1). The maximum As concentration (0.236 mg kg-1) was recorded with 50 mg kg-1 soil of As and the lowest one (0.178 mg kg-1) was recorded with 25 mg kg-1 soil of As. No As was found in the control treatment. A hig- her content of As in soils also causes higher absorption of this element by the roots (Onken and Hossner, 1995). In the treatment combinations, the maximum As concentration (0.313 mg kg-1) was found with ‘Rumana’ and 50 mg kg-1 soil of As and the lowest one (0.120 mg kg-1) was recorded with ‘Cardinal’ and 25 mg kg-1 soil of As (Tab. 2). Conclusion The present experiment showed that the yield of the pota- toes slowly decreased up to 25 mg kg-1 soil of As and there- after drastically decreased as the As level increased. The yield of the potatoes was reduced with increasing As levels in the soil. The Felsina, Cardinal and Diamant varieties showed a better yield performance and less As accumula- tion, as compared to other varieties when cultivated with 25 mg kg-1 soil of As. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Science and Technology-Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh for financially supporting this experiment. Literature cited Abedin, M.J., J. Feldmann, and A.A. Meharg. 2002. Uptake kinetics of arsenic species in rice plants. Plant Physiol. 128, 1120-1128. Doi: 10.1104/pp.010733 Adak, S.K., B.K. Mandal, and S.K. Sanyal. 1999. Yield of potato as inf luenced by arsenic contaminated irrigation water. pp. 926-928. In: Khurana, S.M.P., G.S. Shekhawat, S.K. Pandey, and B.P. Singh (eds.). Potato, global research & development. Vol. 2. Proc. Global Conf. Potato. Indian Potato Association, New Delhi. Alam, M.B. and M.A. Sattar. 2000. Assessment of As contamination in soils and waters in some areas of Bangladesh. Water Sci. Technol. 42, 185-193. Bhattacharya, P., A.C. Samal, J. Majumdar, and S.C. Santra. 2010a. Accumulation of arsenic and its distribution in rice plant (Oryza sativa L.) in Gangetic West Bengal, India. Paddy Water Environ. 8, 63-70. Doi: 10.1007/s10333-009-0180-z http://dx.doi.org/10.1104/pp.010733 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10333-009-0180-z 320 Agron. Colomb. 33(3) 2015 Bhattacharya, P., A.C. Samal, J. Majumder, and S.C. Santra. 2010b. Arsenic contamination in rice, wheat, pulses and vegetables: a study in an arsenic affected area of West Bengal, India. Water Air Soil Pollut. 213, 3-13. Doi: 10.1007/s11270-010-0361-9 Brammer, H. 2009. Mitigation of arsenic contamination in irrigated paddy soils in South and South-east Asia. Environ. Intl. 35, 856-863. Doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2009.02.008 Brown, C.R. 2005. Antioxidants in potato. Amer. J. Potato Res. 82, 163-172. Doi: 10.1007/BF02853654 Carbonell-Barrachina, A.A., E. Burlo, A. Burgos-Hernandez, E. Lopez, and J. Mataix. 1997. The inf luence of arsenic concen- tration on arsenic accumulation in tomato and bean plants. Sci. Hortic. 71, 167-176. Doi: 10.1016/S0304-4238(97)00114-3 Carbonell-Barrachina, A.A., M.A. Aarabi, R.D. DeLaune, R.P. Gam- brell, and W.H. Patrick Jr. 1998. Bioavailability and accumula- tion of arsenic by wetland vegetation: effects on plant growth and nutrition. J. Environ. Sci. Health A Tox. Hazard. Subst. Environ. Eng. 33, 45-66. Doi: 10.1080/10934529809376717 Dahal, B.M., M. Fuerhacker, A. Mentler, K.B. Karki, R.R. Shrestha, and W.E.H. Blum. 2008. Arsenic contamination of soils and agricultural plants through irrigation water in Nepal. Environ. Pollut. 155, 157-163. Doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2007.10.024 Das, H.K., A.K. Mitra, P.K. Sengupta, A. Hossain, F. Islam, and G.H. Rabbani. 2004. Arsenic concentrations in rice, vegetables, and fish in Bangladesh: a preliminary study. Environ. Intl. 30, 383- 387. Doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2003.09.005 Das, S.K. 2006. Morphological and growth characteristics of potato varieties. MSc thesis, Department of Crop Botany, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh. Dhar, M., M. Hossain, B.C. Kundu, M.H. Rahman, E.H.M.S. Raha- man, and M.S. Kadian. 2009. Screening of potato varieties and germplasm against heat tolerance. pp. 35-39. In: Annual Re- port, August 2009. Tuber Crops Research Centre, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Gazipur, Bangladesh. Duxbury, J.M. and Y.J. Zavala. 2005. What are safe levels of arsenic in food and soils? In: International Symposium on Behaviour of Arsenic in Aquifers, Soils and Plants: Implications for Management. The Challenges of Arsenic in Agriculture and the Environment, Dhaka. FAOSTAT. 2013. Potato. Statistical database. Rome. Gomez, K.A. and A.A. Gomez. 1984. Statistical procedure for agri- cultural research. 2nd ed. Intl. Rice Res. Inst., John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY. Gulz, P.A. 1999. Arsen akkumulation verschiedener Nutzpf lanzen in Nährlösung. BGS Bulletin No. 23. Landwirtschaftliche Lehrnittelzentrale LMZ (Hrsg.), Zollikofen, Germany. Kabata-Pendias, A. and H. Pendias. 1992. Trace element in soil and plants. 2nd ed. CRC, London. Hossain, M.S. 2011. Yield potential, storage behavior and degenera- tion of potato varieties in Bangladesh. PhD thesis. Seed Science and Technology Unit, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh. Huang, R.-Q., S.-F. Gao, W.-L. Wang, S. Staunton, and G. Wang. 2006. Soil arsenic availability and the transfer of soil arsenic to crops in suburban areas in Fujian Province, southeast China. Sci. Tota l Env iron. 368, 531-541. Doi: 10.1016/j. scitotenv.2006.03.013 Jiang, Q.Q. and B.R. Singh. 1994. Effect of different forms and sources of arsenic on crop yield and arsenic concentration. Water Air Soil Pollut. 74, 321-343. Doi: 10.1007/BF00479798 Khan, S.I., A.K.M. Ahmed, M. Yunus, M. Rahman, S.K. Hore, M. Vahter, and M.A. Wahed. 2010. Arsenic and cadmium in food- chain in Bangladesh-an exploratory study. J. Health Popul. Nutr. 28, 578-584. Kundu, R., A. Majumder, and S. Pal. 2012a. Arsenic accumulation pattern of different potato cultivars under arsenic contami- nated zone of India. Res. J. Agric. Sci. 3, 135-137. Kundu, R., A. Majumder, and S. Pal. 2012b. Evaluation of potato cultivars against arsenic accumulation under an arsenic con- taminated zone of Eastern India. Potato J. 39, 62-68. Mandal, B.K. and K.T. Suzuki. 2002. Arsenic round the world: a re- view. Talanta 58, 201-235. Doi: 10.1016/S0039-9140(02)00268-0 Marin, A.R., P.H. Masscheleyn, and W.H. Patrick Jr. 1993.Soil redox- pH stability of arsenic species and its inf luence on arsenic up- take by rice. Plant Soil 152, 245-253. Doi: 10.1007/BF00029094 Meharg, A.A. and J. Hartley-Whitaker. 2002. Arsenic uptake and metabolism in arsenic resistant and non-resistant plant species. New Phytol. 154, 29-43. Doi: 10.1046/j.1469-8137.2002.00363.x Meharg, A.A., P.N. Williams, E. Adomako, Y.Y. Lawgali, C. Deacon, A. Villada, R.C.J. Cambell, G. Sun, Y.G. Zhu, J. Feldmann, A. Raab, F.J. Zhao, R. Islam, S. Hossain, and J. Yanai. 2009. Geographical variation in total and inorganic arsenic content of polished (white) rice. Environ. Sci. Technol. 43, 1612-1617. Doi: 10.1021/es802612a Nor ra , S ., Z . A . Ber ner, P. Aga r wa la , F. Wa g ner, D. Cha n- drasekharam, and D. Stüben. 2005. Impact of irrigation with As rich groundwater on soil and crops: a geochemical case study in West Bengal delta plain, India. Appl. Geochem. 20, 1890-1906. Doi: 10.1016/j.apgeochem.2005.04.019 Onken, B.M. and L.R. Hossner. 1995. Plant uptake and deter- mination of arsenic species in soil solution under f looded conditions. J. Environ. Qual. 24, 373-381. Doi: 10.2134/ jeq1995.00472425002400020022x Pillai, T.R., W. Yan, H.A. Agrama, W.D. James, A.M.H. Ibrahim, A.M. McClung, T.J. Gentry, and R.H. Loeppert. 2010. Total grain-arsenic and arsenic-species concentrations in diverse rice cultivars under f looded conditions. Crop Sci. 50, 2065- 2075. Doi: 10.2135/cropsci2009.10.0568 Pyles, R.A. and E.A. Woolson. 1982. Quantitation and characteriza- tion of arsenic compounds in vegetables grown in arsenic acid treated soil. J. Agric. Food Chem. 30, 866-870. Doi: 10.1021/ jf00113a018 Rahman, M.A., H. Hasegawa, M.M. Rahman, M.A. Rahman, and M.A.M. Miah. 2007a. Accumulation of arsenic in tissues of rice plant (Oryza sativa L.) and its distribution in frac- tions of rice grain. Chemosphere 69, 942-948. Doi: 10.1016/j. chemosphere.2007.05.044 R a h ma n, M.A ., H. Ha segawa , M.M. R a h ma n, M.N. Isla m, M.A.M. Miah, and A. Tasmin. 2007b. Arsenic accumula- tion in rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties of Bangladesh: a glass house study. Water Air Soil Pollut. 185, 53-61. Doi: 10.1007/ s11270-007-9425-x Roberts, L.C., S.J. Hug, A. Voegelin, J. Dittmar, J. Dittmar, R. Kretzschmar, B. Wehrli, G.C. Saha, A.B.M. Badruzzaman, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0361-9 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2009.02.008 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02853654 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0304-4238(97)00114-3 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10934529809376717 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2007.10.024 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2003.09.005 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.03.013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.03.013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00479798 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0039-9140(02)00268-0 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00029094 http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1469-8137.2002.00363.x http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es802612a http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2005.04.019 http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/jeq1995.00472425002400020022x http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/jeq1995.00472425002400020022x http://dx.doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2009.10.0568 http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jf00113a018 http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jf00113a018 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2007.05.044 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2007.05.044 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11270-007-9425-x http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11270-007-9425-x 321Haque, Ali, Roy, Masum, and Chowdhury: Yield reduction and arsenic accumulation in potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) in an arsenic contaminated soil and M.A. Ali. 2011. Arsenic dynamics in porewater of an intermittently irrigated paddy field in Bangladesh. Environ. Sci. Technol. 45, 971-976. Doi: 10.1021/es102882q Roychowdhury, T., T. Uchino, H. Tokunaga, and M. Ando. 2002. Survey of arsenic in food composites from an arsenic-affected area of West Bengal, India. Food Chem. Toxicol. 40, 1611-1621. Doi: 10.1016/S0278-6915(02)00104-7 Santra, S.C., A.C. Samal, P. Bhattacharya, S. Banerjee, A. Biswas, and J. Majumdar. 2013. Arsenic in food chain and community health risk: a study in Gangetic West Bengal. Proc. Environ. Sci. 18, 2-13.Doi:10.1016/j.proenv.2013.04.002 Sanyal, S.K. 2005. Arsenic contamination in agriculture: a threat to water-soil-crop-animal-human continuum. In: Proceedings of the 92nd Session of the Indian Science Congress Association. Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Singh, M. 2010. Projection of potato export from India: a markov chain approach. Potato J. 37, 18-55. Srivastava, S., A.K. Srivastava, P. Suprasanna, and S.F. D’Souza. 2009. Comparative biochemical and transcriptional profiling of two contrasting varieties of Brassica juncea L. in response to arsenic exposure reveals mechanisms of stress perception and tolerance. J. Exp. Bot. 60, 3419-3431. Doi: 10.1093/jxb/erp181 Thoresby, P. and I. Thornton. 1979. Heavy metals and arsenic in soil, pasture herbage and barley in some mineralised areas in Britain. In: Hemphill, D.D. (ed.). Trace substances in environ- mental health. Vol. 13. University of Missouri, Columbia, MO. Warren, G.P., B.J. Alloway, N.W. Lepp, B. Singh, F.J.M. Bochereau, and C. Penny. 2003. Field trials to assess the uptake of arsenic by vegetables from contaminated soils and soil remediation with iron oxides. Sci. Total Environ. 311, 19-33. Doi: 10.1016/ S0048-9697(03)00096-2 Woolson, E.A., J.H. Axley, and P.C. Kearney. 1971. Correlation between available soil arsenic, estimated by six methods, and response of corn (Zea mays L.). Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc. 35, 101-105. Doi: 10.2136/sssaj1971.03615995003500010030x http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es102882q http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0278-6915(02)00104-7 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.proenv.2013.04.002 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erp181 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(03)00096-2 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(03)00096-2 http://dx.doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1971.03615995003500010030x