Phytorehzial Technique for Phytoremediation of Heavy Metals Using Ornamentals Plants

Abstract

Plants and human health are both negatively impacted by the soil's heavy metal toxicity. By using excess amounts of fertilizers, sewage sludge, and pesticides, smelting, burning coal, and other methods, they are introduced into the soil.  Among different heavy metals copper and arsenic are very important but their higher concentrations cause several morphological and biochemical in plants. They become part of the food chain when fruits and vegetables are grown in contaminated soil and can cause serious health issues to consumers. On the other hand, ornamental plants are used for aesthetic beautification and could be explored for the phytoremediation of soil heavy metals. A recent study was conducted to observe the phytoremediation potential of Gladiolus (Gladiolus grandifloras) and chrysanthemum against different levels of copper (80 and100µg/kg of soil) and arsenic (80 and 100 µg/kg) in the soil under completely randomized design. Data of accumulated quantity of heavy metals were noted after the flowering stage of both plants by dividing into four parts including roots, stem, leaves, and flowers. Both Gladiolus and chrysanthemum accumulated significant amounts of Cu and As in roots, stem, leaves, and flower. Gladiolus and chrysanthemum accumulated 367, 456, 796 and 1278ppm Co and 356, 571, 832 and 1478ppm As respectively. Chrysanthemums took up significant amounts of Cu in the stem and easily translocated from stem flowers. The translocation ability of chrysanthemum was higher for both metals compared to Gladiolus. The data were analyzed by mini tab statistics 8.1.