Title: Accumulation and mobility of heavy metals in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graceum L.) and tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.) grown in the field amended with urban wastes, and their composts and vermicomposts

Authors: Swati Pattnaik, M. Vikram Reddy

Addresses: Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry 605014, India. ' Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry 605014, India

Abstract: Accumulation of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn) in roots, stems and leaves of fenugreek and tomato grown on lateritic soil amended with municipal solid waste, market and floral waste, and their composts and vermicomposts prepared using three earthworm species, were assessed. The heavy metal accumulation in the plant parts showed significant correlations with that of their respective inputs (p < 0.001). This accumulation in root, stem and leaves of the plants were significantly different across different treatment inputs and sole soil (p < 0.05). The accumulation was higher in tomato than that of fenugreek. The metal accumulation in different plant parts was in ranking order of stem > root > leaf in case of Cd; root > stem > leaf in case of Zn, Pb and Cu; and leaf > stem > root in case of Mn in both the plants. The Bioaccumulation Coefficient was less than a unity for the metals in tomato and fenugreek. However, the Bio-Transfer Coefficient was more than a unity in Cd and Mn while it was reverse for Pb, Zn and Cu for both the plants.

Keywords: municipal solid waste; vegetable waste; vegetable markets; floral waste; BAC; bioaccumulation coefficient; BTC; bio-transfer coefficient; roots; stems; leaves; heavy metals; cadmium; lead; zinc; copper; manganese; bioaccumulation; fenugreek; tomatoes; composting; vermicomposting.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETM.2011.039268

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 2011 Vol.14 No.1/2/3/4, pp.147 - 181

Published online: 29 Jan 2015 *

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