TITLE:
Phytoextraction Efficiency of Lead by Arum (Colocasia esculenta L.) Grown in Hydroponics
AUTHORS:
Md. Shoffikul Islam, Md. Abul Kashem, Khan Towhid Osman
KEYWORDS:
Water, Contamination, Metal, Hyperaccumulator, Toxicity
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Soil Science,
Vol.6 No.7,
July
21,
2016
ABSTRACT: Lead (Pb)
tolerance and phytoextraction efficiency of arum (Pani Kachu; Colocasia esculenta L.) were investigated
in hydroponics. Plants were grown for 60 days in nutrient solution after addition
of Pb at the levels of 0, 50, 200 and 400 μM. The growth of different parts of arum
was unaffected at low level of Pb concentration (50 μM Pb) compared with control
treatment whereas it decreased gradually with the increase of metal concentration
in nutrient solution. Concentration of metal in all parts of arum increased significantly
with the levels of Pb in the growth media (p ·kgǃ, at its
low level in solution. This concentration (50 μM Pb) did not cause any growth retardation
which indicated that arum was a Pb hyperaccumulator plant. On an average, translocation
of Pb from roots to shoots was 68% of total Pb which indicated that the major portion
of Pb was translocated from roots to shoots. Transfer factor (TF) greater than one
for this metal as found in the present experiment confirmed the hyperaccumulation
characteristics of arum. Lead uptake in the shoots of arum without growth retardation
and TF of Pb in arum indicated that this plant was a suitable candidate for the
phytoremediation of soil and water contaminated with Pb.