PHYTOREMEDIATION OF A Pb-POLLUTED SOIL USING MUSTARD PLANT SPECIES

A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to clarify the abilityof both White mustard (Sinapis alba L.) and Indian mustard (Brassicajuncos L.) as a phytoremediation for a polluted Pb-soil. Plants weregrown on a soil treated with Pb at rates 154, 450, 750, and 950 mg kg-1soil. Soil pots were daily irrigated with tap water. The plantsallowed to growing for four months. One week before harvest,ethylene-diamine-tetraacetic acid (EDTA) as a chelated agent wasapplied at a rate of 0.5 g kg-1 soil for 50 % of the experimental pots.Either EDTA-treated or untreated plants were harvested 127 days afterplanting.The obtained results showed that white mustard and Indianmustard plants grown in Pb contaminated soil can tolerate andaccumulate significant amounts of lead (Pb) in their roots and shoots.The results suggest that adding EDTA can promote the bioavailabilityof Pb in the soil and increase the propensity for Pb-uptake by plantsinto roots and shoots. It could be concluded that White mustard andIndian mustard can be grown under elevated Pb conditions due to theirsuitability as a potential crop species for phytoremediation of pollutedsoils with heavy metals.