Screening Maize Cultivars Enables Concurrent Safe Crop Production and Phytoremediation of Cd‐Contaminated Agricultural Soil: A Field Experiment

ABSTRACT Conventional management of heavy metal contaminated soil faces a dual challenge. Safe utilization maintains agricultural production without removing pollutants, whereas phytoremediation cleans the soil but cannot guarantee the planted crop safety. Hence, achieving both soil remediation and safe food production remains an ongoing difficulty. For this objective of “Production‐Remediation Nexus”, 35 maize cultivars were evaluated growing in a field cadmium (Cd) contaminated cropland, to identify the crop cultivars that enable both safe food production by low grain Cd and effective soil cleaning by high Cd accumulation and biomass of shoot (stem and leaf). Results showed that 94.3% of the cultivars' grain Cd concentrations were below the FAO limit (0.1 mg kg −1 ), while shoot Cd accumulation ranged from 0.03 to 0.51 mg per plant (mean 0.17), demonstrating the potential for “production while remediation” in Cd contaminated soil. Cluster analysis based on the shoot Cd bioconcentration factor (BCF) grouped the maize cultivars into four Cd‐accumulation types. Correlation analysis revealed significantly positive relationships between shoot Cd concentrations and soil bioavailable Cd. Using grain Cd BCF values and ensuring compliance with FAO food guidelines, the soil Cd thresholds for safe maize production were estimated at 0.53–4.20 mg kg −1 , covering most contaminated farmlands. These findings confirm that selecting appropriate maize cultivars according to soil Cd levels offers a double‐benefits strategy, supporting safe agricultural production while enabling urgently needed in situ soil remediation.