In-vitro Assessment of Heavy Metal Removal fromContaminated Agricultural Soil by Native Plant Species

Soil pollution by toxic metals such as cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr) and copper (Cu) isa major problem in different agricultural areas of Pakistan especially Gujranwala and Lahore. Theobjective of this study was to assess the accumulation and uptake of toxic metals fromcontaminated soil by using local plants such asSoybean (Glycine max), Barley (Hordeumvulgare),Sunflower (Helianthus annuus), Pearl millet(Pennisetum americanum),Maize (Zeamays), Canola (Brassica napus) andWheat (Triticum aestivum).This study was based on thecomparison of heavy metal concentrations and their accumulation in different parts ofplants. In-vitro experiments were conducted by collecting soil from peri-urban areas of Gujranwala andLahore being irrigated with untreated wastewater. Different seed varieties of local plants werebrought from sale shop at National Agriculture ResearchCenter (NARC) Islamabad. Seeds weregerminated and grown in laboratory in ambient environment. Plants were irrigated with differentlevels of each toxic metal and a control was also run. Plant samples were harvested on 20thdayand heavy metal concentrations were checked in roots and shoots of plants. Accumulation ofheavy metals in the shoots and roots of local plants was measured using Flame Atomic AbsorptionSpectrophotometer (FAAS). The evidences provided by this experiment indicated that nativecrops like maize and canola were effective for phytoremediation of toxic metal polluted soil. In thefuture further experiments should be performed in order to investigate the phytoremediationpotential of these crops for metals.