The concentration of nutrient elements is an important quality characteristic of vegetables, and the variation in accumulation among cultivars can provide clues about the mechanism of low accumulation of heavy metals. Pot-culture experiments were arranged under four cadmium (Cd) treatments (CK, 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0 mg/kg) to explore influences of Cd on the accumulation of nutrient elements in 25 welsh onion cultivars. There were significant positive correlations (p < 0.05) between Cd and nutrient elements in the pseudostems and leaves. There were also significant positive correlations in nutrient elements (p < 0.05) among cultivars, which might be disturbed under high Cd treatments, especially for P, Fe and Mn. Our results suggested that there is a synergistic effect on the accumulation between Cd and nutrient elements, and within nutrient elements among cultivars. In addition the uptake and translocation process of Cd was closely related to Mn in welsh onion.
