Soil Quality as a Key Factor in Producing Vegetables for Home Consumption—A Case Study of Urban Allotments in Gorzów Wielkopolski (Poland)

Department of Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agronomy, Horticulture and Bioengineering, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Zgorzelecka 4, 60-198 Poznań, Poland

Department of Botany, Faculty of Agronomy, Horticulture and Bioengineering, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71c, 60-625 Poznań, Poland

Department of Integrated Geography, Faculty of Human Geography and Planning, Adam Mickiewicz University, Bogumiła Krygowskiego 10, 61-680 Poznań, Poland

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Department of Mathematical Statistics and Data Analysis, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznańskiego 4, 61-614 Poznań, Poland

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Department of Vegetable Crops, Faculty of Agronomy, Horticulture and Bioengineering, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Jana Henryka Dąbrowskiego 159, 60-995 Poznań, Poland

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editor: Jinman Wang

Agronomy 2021, 11(9), 1836; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11091836

Received: 28 July 2021 / Revised: 29 August 2021 / Accepted: 8 September 2021 / Published: 13 September 2021

(This article belongs to the Section Soil and Plant Nutrition)

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Abstract

The aim of the study was to analyse the quality of soil in urban allotment gardens in the context of the production of home-grown vegetables. The study was conducted on six allotment gardens (31 individual plots) in Gorzów Wielkopolski, a medium-sized Polish city with an average level of industrialisation. The following soil characteristics were analysed: pH, electric conductivity, organic matter, organic carbon, humus, total nitrogen, C:N ratio, NH₄⁺-N, NO₃-N⁻, P, K, Ca, Mg, SO₄⁻-S, Cl, Na, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Ni, Cr, Cd, Pb. The analyses showed that the soils were abundant in necessary nutrients for vegetable growing. They had high content of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. However, the soil pH in areas of vegetable cropping was too high. The content of toxic heavy metals—cadmium (0.22–0.59 mg∙kg⁻¹ d.m.) and lead (3.46–16.89 mg∙kg⁻¹ d.m.)—was within the acceptable limits. Nevertheless, the chemical analysis of carrots used as test vegetables showed that the permissible limits of cadmium and lead content in their roots were exceeded. The excessive uptake of these toxic metals can be reduced by lowering the soil pH and applying organic carbon to the soil. View Full-Text

Keywords: urban agriculture; allotment gardens; food security; urban soils; heavy metals; Poland

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MDPI and ACS Style

Bosiacki, M.; Bednorz, L.; Fedeńczak, K.; Górecki, T.; Mizgajski, A.; Poniży, L.; Spiżewski, T. Soil Quality as a Key Factor in Producing Vegetables for Home Consumption—A Case Study of Urban Allotments in Gorzów Wielkopolski (Poland). Agronomy 2021, 11, 1836. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11091836

AMA Style

Bosiacki M, Bednorz L, Fedeńczak K, Górecki T, Mizgajski A, Poniży L, Spiżewski T. Soil Quality as a Key Factor in Producing Vegetables for Home Consumption—A Case Study of Urban Allotments in Gorzów Wielkopolski (Poland). Agronomy. 2021; 11(9):1836. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11091836

Chicago/Turabian Style

Bosiacki, Maciej, Leszek Bednorz, Konstancja Fedeńczak, Tomasz Górecki, Andrzej Mizgajski, Lidia Poniży, and Tomasz Spiżewski. 2021. "Soil Quality as a Key Factor in Producing Vegetables for Home Consumption—A Case Study of Urban Allotments in Gorzów Wielkopolski (Poland)" Agronomy 11, no. 9: 1836. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11091836

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Soil Quality as a Key Factor in Producing Vegetables for Home Consumption—A Case Study of Urban Allotments in Gorzów Wielkopolski (Poland)

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