Determinación de los niveles de cadmio en suelos de plantaciones de cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) ubicadas en la vereda la Esmeralda en el municipio de San Vicente de Chucuri, Santander.

Abstract

The objective of this work was to determine the cadmium levels in soils of nine farms in the la Esmeralda path in San Vicente de Chucuri, Santander. Soil samples were taken at two depths 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm, and they were determined some physical and chemical characteristics such as texture by the hydrometer method, pH and electrical conductivity by the potentiometric method in a water and soil 2:1, organic matter by ignition losses, available phosphorus by Bray II and total cadmium by the digestion method with concentrated nitric acid. Descriptive statistics were performed on the data, a one-way variance analysis (ANOVA) was applied, when this was significant (p <0.05), a Tukey test was used to compare means. To relate variables, a Pearson linear correlation analysis was developed. The pH of the soils turned out to be strongly acidic, the electrical conductivity was low, the percentage of organic matter was high, the concentration of phosphorus and cadmium was low. Because the concentration of cadmium in soils is below the maximum limits established in international regulations, it is concluded that the village of La Esmeralda in the municipality of San Vicente de Chucuri is suitable for the commercial production of cocoa for export purposes.