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CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 119, NO. 11, 10 DECEMBER 2020 1849
*For correspondence. (e-mail: hamsanraj@gmail.com)
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Received 30 June 2020; accepted 4 October 2020
doi: 10.18520/cs/v119/i11/1845-1849
Heavy metal contamination in soils
and crops irrigated with lakes of
Bengaluru
N. Hamsa* and N. B. Prakash
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry,
University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru 560 065, India
Soils and vegetable crops being irrigated with water
from six lakes in Bengaluru, India were analysed
using ICP-OES for heavy metals and characterized
based on the permissible limits of the European Union
(EU) and the Indian Standards (IS). Chromium, nickel
and lead content in the soils ranged from 89.36 to
145.21, 0.90 to 19.17 and below detection limit to
0.31 mg kg–1 respectively. Among the total soil samples
collected, 15%, 22%, 20%, 23%, 15% and 33% of the
samples exceeded permissible limits of EU and IS for
cadmium under Margondanahalli, Yele Mallappa
Shetty, Hoskote, Varthur, Byramangala and Jigani
lake respectively. All the crop samples analysed
exceeded the EU standards for Cr, 25% for Ni, and
none for Cd and Pb.
Keywords: Heavy metals, lake water, soil contamina-
tion, standard permissible limits, vegetable crops.
LAKES were once important water resources for house-
hold needs, animal husbandry and agriculture. Bengaluru,
Karnataka, South India had 280–285 lakes, many of
which have been encroached by slums and private parties,
dried up, leased out by Government organizations; today
only 17 lakes exist. Unlike other cities, lakes in and
around Bengaluru have become part of the city drainage
system that drains untreated and partially treated domes-
tic sewage and industrial effluents from a number of
small-scale units like garment factories, electroplating
industries, distilleries, etc. The unscientific disposal of
wastewater has caused immense environmental problems
not only to the aquatic environment but also to humans
worldwide1. This problem has intensified during the last
few decades and the situation has become alarming in
India2. The farmers in and around Bangalore use water
from the lakes for cultivation of crops and in particular,
vegetables. Soils receiving water from these lakes accu-
mulate heavy metals to varying degrees depending on
their concentration in water and the frequency of irriga-
tion. The contamination of lake water with heavy metals
leads to their accumulation in the sediments. When far-
mers use the sediments in agricultural fields as a common
practice, the heavy metals accumulate in agriculture soils
and pose serious problems. Wastewater irrigation may
lead to the accumulation of heavy metals in agriculture
soils and plants3. The heavy metals are absorbed by crops
along with other essential plant nutrients. Heavy metals
are non-biodegradable and thermostable, and thus readily
accumulate to toxic levels4. Contamination of soils and
crops with these metals may have adverse effects on
soils, plants, animals and humans. Food safety issues and
potential health risks make this one of the serious envi-
ronmental concerns5. Ultimately different crops grown in
these sites irrigated with contaminated lakes have shown
uptake of heavy metals that make them unfit for con-
sumption6. The present study aims to assess the extent of
heavy-metal contamination of soils irrigated with lake
water in Bengaluru urban and peri-urban areas.
Bengaluru is located in the southern part of Karnataka.
Out of 17 lakes in Bengaluru, six were selected for the
present study – Margondanahalli, Yele Mallapa Shetty
(YMS), Hoskote Doddakere, Varthur, Byramangala and
Jigani (Figures 1 and 2).
Figure 1. Soil and crop sampling sites irrigated with water from
different lakes in Bengaluru, India.
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Table 1. Total elemental composition of soils irrigated with water from different lake of urban and peri-urban areas in Bengaluru, India
Lake Cr (mg kg–1) Cd (mg kg–1) Ni (mg kg–1) Pb (mg kg–1)
Margondanahalli (n = 14) Range 55.64–136.57 BDL –6.2 20.96–63.95 0.0–25.57
Mean ± SD 89.36 ± 22.36 2.87 ± 1.74 42.22 ± 11.94 7.54 ± 7.24
YMS (n = 6) Range 78.12–111.71 2.41–5.43 29.64–53.81 BDL –6.07
Mean ± SD 96.92 ± 14.07 3.74 ± 1.20 42.08 ± 8.16 1.73 ± 2.58
Hoskote (n = 3) Range 114.25–129.97 2.92–3.48 41.97–59.9 BDL –5.16
Mean ± SD 119.76 ± 8.85 3.25 ± 0.29 50.51 ± 8.99 1.72 ± 2.98
Varthur (n = 23) Range 21.34–217.25 BDL –10.9 13.44–53.63 BDL –7.39
Mean ± SD 105.09 ± 42.89 3.77 ± 2.23 30.38 ± 10.92 2.17 ± 2.55
Byramangala (n = 15) Range 43.96–348.37 BDL –9.22 8.1–90.95 BDL –20.48
Mean ± SD 145.21 ± 101.85 4.38 ± 3.72 46.67 ± 28.87 7.89 ± 7.12
Jigani (n = 13) Range 81.67–113.85 3.22–8.08 34.46–62.91 BDL –13.63
Mean ± SD 90.99 ± 10.24 5.33 ± 1.53 46.33 ± 7.72 2.50 ± 3.85
Permissible limits EU 150 3.0 75 300
IS 100 3.0 50 300
n the number of samples. EU, European Union; IS, Indian Standards; YMS, Yele Mallappa Shetty lake; BDL, Below detection limit.
Figure 2. General view of agricultural fields irrigated with water
from different lakes in Bengaluru.
Surface soil samples from major vegetable cultivated
fields irrigated with water from different lakes were col-
lected at 0–15 cm depth. Soil samples were air-dried
under shade. Next, 1 g of soil was ground and sieved
through 0.2 mm sieve and stored in polythene bags till
further analysis.
The use of closed-vessel microwave-assisted digestion
systems under high temperature and pressure for acid
digestion has now become routine. For the analysis of
total heavy metals in the soil, 0.05 g of 0.2 mm sieved
soil was taken in Teflon digestion vessels and predigested
with 8 ml HNO3 (70%), 2 ml H2O2 (30%). Then the sam-
ples were digested using a microwave digester (Miles-
tone-START D) at 150°C as follows: 1200 W for 15 min,
1200 W for 10 min and venting for 10 min. The digested
samples was stored in clean plastic tubes of 50 ml capacity,
after making up the volume using double-distilled water.
The samples were analysed for heavy metal content using
Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectro-
photometer (ICP-OES) (Thermofisher-model ICAP 7000
series).
For the analysis of Diethylene Triamine Penta Acetate
(DTPA) extractable heavy metals 10 g of 2 mm sieved
soil was taken in a 50 ml centrifuge tube and 20 ml of
DTPA extractant was added. After continuous end-to-end
shaking in a mechanical shaker for 2 h, the solution was
filtered through micro-syringe filters. Heavy metals in the
extracted filtered solution were determined using
ICP-OES.
Edible parts of the crops, preferably vegetables grown
in the sites irrigated with water from the selected lakes
were sampled. A total of 93 plant samples at maturity
were collected during post-monsoon of 2017 and soil
samples were also collected from the same plots.
The plant samples were washed with running tap water
followed by double-distilled water to remove adhered
dirt particles. They were dried in the hot-air oven at
70°C, powdered and used for analysing heavy metal
content following the same procedure as for soil total
metal content.
To assess the heavy metal contamination of soils and
crops irrigated with lake water, a survey was conducted
to select the farmer’s fields being irrigated with lake
water, soil and crop samples were collected. The number
of samples varied with the area depending on the crops
grown with lake water irrigation and preferably cultiva-
tion of vegetable crops. The soil samples were analysed
for heavy metal content.
Total chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni) and
lead (Pb) in the soils irrespective of lake water irrigation
ranged from 89.36 to 145.21, 2.87 to 5.33, 30.38 to 50.51
and 1.72 to 7.54 mg kg–1 respectively (Table 1). The
permissible limits in soils according to the European
Union (EU) standards for Cr, Cd, Ni and Pb are 150, 3.0,
75 and 300 mg kg–1 respectively and Indian Standards
(IS) are 100, 3.0, 50 and 100 mg kg–1 respectively. The
highest average concentration of 5.33 and 50.51 mg kg–1
for Cd and Ni respectively was recorded in soils irrigated
with water from Jigani and Hoskote lakes, 145.21 and
7.89 mg kg–1 for Cr and Pb respectively in case of Byra-
mangala lake. The lowest concentration of 89.36 and
2.87 mg kg–1 for Cr and Cd respectively, was recorded in
soils irrigated with water from Margondanahalli lake,
30.38 and 1.72 mg kg–1 for Ni and Pb respectively for
Varthur and Hoskote lakes. The average total heavy metal
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Figure 3. Percentage of samples above permissible limits according to (a) European Union (EU) standards and (b) Indian Stan-
dards (IS) for heavy metals in soils irrigated with water from different lakes.
content in the soils was 0.261, 0.086, 0.129 and
0.515 mg kg–1 for Cr, Cd, Ni and Pb respectively.
Chromium is mostly used in a variety of applications
such as leather tanning, chromium plating, timber preser-
vation, corrosion protection, textiles, etc. Around 90% of
leather is tanned using chromium salts. All these indus-
tries let wastewater into nearby water bodies and conta-
minate them7.
From the present study we found that none of the sam-
ples exceeded EU limits for soil Cr and 33% of the
samples were above IS in soils irrigated with water from
Margondanahalli lake. All the samples were below per-
missible limits for Cr in case for YMS lake water; 67%
and 100% of the total samples exceeded permissible lim-
its for Cr of EU and IS respectively in case of Hoskote
lake water, 14.29% and 52.38% above EU limits and IS
respectively, for Cr in soils irrigated with water from
Varthur lake. All the samples collected from Byramangala
lake water irrigation were below EU limits (75 mg kg–1)
and 9.52% recorded higher than IS permissible limits
(50 mg kg–1) for soil Cr (Figure 3).
Higher concentration of Cr was observed in soils irri-
gated with Byramangala lake water than other lakes.
Similarly, soils exceeded the Prevention of Food Adulte-
ration (PFA) limits for Cr under irrigation using water
from various lakes of peri urban Bengaluru, viz. Belan-
dur, Varthur, Byramangala and Nagavara6. Other studies
showed that the soil samples irrigated with Byramangala
lake water recorded 76.88 mg kg–1 of Cr while irrigation
with other lake waters soil Cr ranged from below detec-
tion level to 116.94 mg kg–1 (ref. 4). We found that the
soils irrigated with Byramangala lake water recorded
higher values for DTPA-extractable Cr similar to total Cr
content.
The common source of Cd contaminants is corrosion of
galvanized pipes, erosion of natural deposits, discharge
from metal refineries, run-off from waste batteries and
paints8.
Out of 15 samples collected from Margondanahalli
lake water irrigation sites, 15% exceeded permissible lim-
its of EU and IS for Cd (3.0 mg kg–1) and 22%, 20%,
23%, 15% and 33% exceeded permissible limits of EU
and IS for Cd under YMS, Hoskote, Varthur, Byramangala
and Jigani, respectively (Figure 3). Soils irrigated with
Varthur lake water exceeded the safe limits9, but Cd con-
tent in Belandur, Ramagondanahalli, Parappana Agrahara
and Jigani and Byramangala lake was below detection
level14. The DTPA-extractable Cd content in soils irri-
gated with water from Margondanahalli, Varthur and
Jigani lakes was 0.01 mg kg–1, whereas for YMS and
Hoskote it was below detection limits. The Byramangala
soils recorded comparatively higher values of
0.02 mg kg–1. The total Cd content was higher in soil
irrigated with Jigani lake water.
The presence of Ni in water bodies could be due to
leaching from pipes and fittings in contact with water
bodies or along with industrial effluents directly let into
the lakes10.
Nickel concentration in soil samples collected from
various lake water irrigation sites ranged from 0.90 to
14.14, 7.10 to 14.01, 6.28 to 9.15, 4.6 to 17.89, 5.86 to
19.17 and 2.09 to 9.58 mg kg–1 for Margondanahalli,
YMS, Hoskote, Varthur, Byramangala and Jigani respec-
tively (Table 2). Figure 3 shows the percentage of
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Table 2. Contents of Cr, Cd, Pb and Ni (mean, mg kg–1) in crops irrigated with water from different lakes in Bengaluru
Crop Lake Cr Cd Pb Ni
Knol khol Margondanahalli (n = 4) 30.42 0.58 BDL 1.74
Varthur (n = 2) 9.06 0.35 BDL 0.52
Byramangala (n = 2) 14.57 0.28 0.28 BDL
Spinach Margondanahalli (n = 2) 13.22 0.22 BDL 0.42
YMS (n = 3) 21.06 BDL BDL 1.42
Hoskote (n = 2) 13.17 1.69 BDL 1.91
Varthur (n = 6) 14.69 BDL BDL BDL
Jigani (n = 7) 22.67 0.07 BDL 0.71
Tomato Margondanahalli (n = 2) 20.07 0.21 BDL 0.01
Byramangala (n = 2) 19.81 0.04 BDL BDL
Amaranthus Margondanahalli (n = 3) 27.72 0.43 BDL 0.53
Hoskote (n = 2) 13.95 0.03 BDL 0.49
Varthur (n = 2) 12.18 BDL BDL 1.35
Jigani (n = 2) 20.66 BDL BDL 0.46
Paddy grain Margondanahalli (n = 2) 30.69 BDL BDL 0.75
Varthur (n = 4) 17.45 0.23 BDL BDL
Paddy straw Margondanahalli (n = 2) 33.99 BDL BDL 1.10
Varthur (n = 4) 17.03 BDL BDL BDL
Coriander Margondanahalli (n = 3) 15.71 0.10 BDL 1.20
YMS (n = 2) 14.55 BDL BDL 0.63
Hoskote (n = 2) 13.78 0.04 BDL 1.10
Varthur (n = 2) 18.27 BDL BDL 0.75
Byramangala (n = 5) 19.88 0.45 BDL 0.96
Jigani (n = 3) 20.37 0.07 BDL 0.50
Beans Margondanahalli (n = 3) 20.40 BDL BDL BDL
Beetroot YMS (n = 2) 22.15 BDL BDL 2.48
Hoskote (n = 2) 3.21 0.01 BDL BDL
Radish tuber Varthur (n = 4) 13.81 BDL BDL 0.87
Jigani (n = 2) 19.31 BDL BDL BDL
Permissible limits EU 0.2 2.3 0.3 0.2
IS 20 2.5 1.5 20
soil samples exceeding the permissible limits for Ni
content.
None of the soil samples collected from sites irrigated
with water from Margondanahalli, YMS, Hoskote, Var-
thur, Byramangala and Jigani lakes, exceeded EU and IS
limits for soil Pb, though few of the samples showed
presence of lead with lake water irrigation. In urban
areas, the principal source of Pb in wetlands is from gaso-
line additives, metal plating, e-waste and battery cells,
electrical equipment, textile mills, dyes and pigments,
paper mills, chemical and fertilizer industries and ghee-
manufacturing industries11.
The concentration of heavy metals in soils irrigated
with lake water did not show a common trend for the
crops under cultivation. A wide variation in accumulation
of heavy metals in soils was observed irrespective of the
crops grown. Vegetables being short-duration crops, far-
mers change crops frequently in these locations, adopt
different management practices such as fertilizers, fre-
quency of irrigation, etc. Hence the type of crop under
cultivation is not being focused here.
Irrespective of the sites and crops being grown, concen-
tration of heavy metals was found in the order of
Cr > Ni > Pb > Cd in soils irrigated with water from
Margondanahalli, Hoskote and Byramangala lakes,
whereas the order was Cr > Ni > Cd > Pb in soils irri-
gated with water from other lakes (Table 1). Similarly,
the concentration of heavy metals in soils was in the
order of Ni > Cr > Pb12. However, in soils receiving
water from River Cauvery through channels in Tamil
Nadu, it was in the order Pb > Cr > Cd13,14.
DTPA extractable heavy metal content in soils irri-
gated with water from different lakes was found to be
below detectable limit in the present study and DTPA-
extractable heavy metal content does not indicate the
plant available fraction of heavy metal in soils. Hence, it
is not being mentioned here. The results are similarly
reported as the DTPA-extractable heavy metals in the
soils irrigated with Vrishabhavathi water were found to
be negligeable15.
Concentration of Cr in vegetable crop samples ranged
from 7.93 to 56.15 mg kg–1 (Table 2). All the plant sam-
ples collected from the fields irrigated with Margondana-
halli lake water were above EU limits (0.3 mg kg–1) for
Cr, nearly 33% for Cd and 5% for Ni. None of the sam-
ples was above permissible limits of EU (0.3 mg kg–1) for
Pb (Figure 4). Average concentration of Cd and Ni in
plant samples was 0.001 and 1.5 mg kg–1 respectively,
and Pb was below detection limits in plants irrigated with
YMS lake water.
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Figure 4. Percentage of samples above permissible limits for heavy metals according to (a) EU standards and (b) IS in plants
irrigated with water from different lakes.
Among the leafy vegetables, coriander followed by
spinach are known to accumulate heavy metals, but our
results also revealed accumulation of heavy metals in
knol khol samples. The trace metal content in spinach and
coriander crops irrigated with Bellandur lake water was
higher than the IS and World Health Organization
(WHO) limits for Pb (2.5 and 5.0 mg kg–1 respectively)
and IS for Cr (20.0 mg kg–1)4.
All the plant samples recorded Cr content above EU
permissible limits, whereas 25% of the samples were
above the limits for Cd and none of the samples exceeded
EU limits for Ni and Pb irrigated with Varthur lake water.
Out of 17 plant samples collected from the fields irrigated
with Byramangala lake water, it was found that all were
above permissible limits of EU standards for Cr, 35% for
Cd, 6% for Pb and none for Ni (Figure 4).
In general, green leafy vegetables such as amaranthus,
coriander and spinach accumulate higher amounts of
heavy metals. This may be attributed to high transloca-
tion and transpiration rate of leafy vegetables in which
transfer of metals from root to stem and leaves was high-
er and was lower to fruits, which results in lower accu-
mulation in crops other than leafy vegetables. In addition,
due to their large surface area exposed to environmental
pollution, leafy vegetables accumulate more heavy met-
als16. Similar observations were made in vegetables
grown with contaminated water in Pakistan17. The order of
toxic heavy metal contamination in vegetables found in
the present study was as follows: spinach > amaranthus >
coriander > radish > beetroot > beans (Table 2). Whereas,
the order was spinach > radish > brinjal > beans in case
of other findings18.
Irrespective of the crop, type of soil under cultivation
and lake water being used for irrigation, the order of
heavy metals accumulation in plant samples was found to
be Cr > Ni > Cd > Pb (Figure 4).
Variation in the concentration of heavy metals in vege-
tables observed during the present study may be ascribed
to the physical and chemical properties of soils (produc-
tion sites), absorption capacities of heavy metals by
vegetables, atmospheric deposition of heavy metals,
which may be influenced by several environmental
factors such as temperature, moisture and wind velocity,
and the nature of the vegetables, i.e. leafy, root, fruit,
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1854
exposed surface area, and hairy or smooth exposed
parts19,20.
A survey was conducted in and around the peri urban
Bengaluru for crop fields being irrigated with water from
different lakes. The soil and crop samples were analysed
for heavy metal content and characterized based on stan-
dard permissible limits. Higher concentration of Cr was
observed in soils irrigated with Byramangala lake water
than other lakes, Cd in Jigani, Ni and Pb in Hoskote and
Margonadanahalli respectively. The concentration of
heavy metals in soils irrigated with lake water did not
have a common trend for the type of crop under cultiva-
tion. A wide variation in concentration was observed
irrespective of the crop grown. Irrespective of the sites
and crops being grown, concentration of heavy metal was
found in the order of Cr > Ni > Pb > Cd in soils irrigated
with Margondanahalli, Hoskote and Byramangala lakes,
whereas the order was Cr > Ni > Cd > Pb in soils irri-
gated with water from other lakes. Irrigating the crop
fields with lake water has not only resulted in accumula-
tion of heavy metals in the soil, but plant samples also
showed the presence of heavy metals. The average values
in different crops indicate higher Cr content in coriander
leaves followed by spinach, radish, amaranthus and knol
khol. Among the leafy vegetables, coriander followed by
spinach is known to accumulate heavy metals. Irrespec-
tive of the plant type, soil under cultivation and lake
water being used for irrigation, the order of accumulation
in plant samples was found to be Cr > Ni > Cd > Pb.
From this study, we can conclude that the use of lake
water in and around Bengaluru for irrigation leads to ac-
cumulation of heavy metals above permissible limits for
soils and crops. This makes the crops unfit for consump-
tion and if consumed may lead to various health hazards.
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Received 6 August 2020; revised accepted 13 October 2020
doi: 10.18520/cs/v119/i11/1849-1854
