With irrigation using waste water, application of sewage sludge, and development of mine exploration, copper (Cu) contamination in some paddy fields has become increasingly serious. A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted using a factorial design with three sulfur (S) application rates (i.e., 0, 0.013, and 0.026 g S kg-1 soil) and three silicon (Si) application rates (i.e., 0, 0.05, and 0.1 g Si kg-1 soil) to test the effect of co-amendment of S and Si on alleviating Cu contamination in paddy soil. There were significant interaction effects between S and Si on soil Cu speciation and Cu uptake by rice plants (except brown rice). Sulfur addition decreased the content of soil-exchangeable Cu, whereas Si addition decreased the content of soil-reducible Cu, suggesting that co-amendment of S and Si generally reduced Cu availability. Copper was biominimized in the soil-rice plant system and rice root had the greatest Cu concentration (163⁻285 mg kg-1). Co-amendment of S and Si decreased the translocation of Cu from soil to rice root, possibly due to decreased soil Cu mobility and enhancement of the formation of iron plaque on rice root. Co-amendment of S-Si at a rate of 0.013 (S)⁻0.1 (Si) g kg-1 soil, respectively, was the optimal among all treatments.
Keywords: Cu contamination; Cu speciation; paddy soil; silicon; sulfur.