The potential for potassium chloride fertiliser applications to leach cadmium from a grazed pasture soil

Cadmium (Cd) is a biotoxic element that can enter the human food chain via plants grown in Cd-enriched soil. Chloride (Cl) can solubilise Cd in soil. Although fertilisers containing Cl are not recommended as they may increase plant uptake of Cd, potassium chloride (KCl) is regularly applied to replenish and maintain K in the soil of grazed pastures. A trial was conducted to see if an autumn application of low or high KCl and the same molar rates of CaCl2 would leach Cd over 4-months of normal or high autumn-winter rainfall without enriching Cd in plant shoots. Applying Cl (e.g. as KCl) in autumn may be a simple strategy to help slow the enrichment of soil Cd and does not increase the uptake of Cd by pasture shoots.