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Evaluation of the possibility to use the plant–microbe interaction to stimulate radioactive 137Cs accumulation by plants in a contaminated farm field in Fukushima, Japan

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Abstract

Field experiments in a contaminated farmland in Nihonmatsu city, Fukushima were conducted to assess the effectiveness of the plant–microbe interaction on removal of radiocesium. Before plowing, 93.3 % of radiocesium was found in the top 5 cm layer (5,718 Bq kg DW−1). After plowing, Cs radioactivity in the 0–15 cm layer ranged from 2,037 to 3,277 Bq kg DW−1. Based on sequential extraction, the percentage of available radiocesium (water soluble + exchangeable) was fewer than 10 % of the total radioactive Cs. The transfer of 137Cs was investigated in three agricultural crops; komatsuna (four cultivars), Indian mustard and buckwheat, inoculated with a Bacillus or an Azospirillum strains. Except for komatsuna Nikko and Indian mustard, inoculation with both strains resulted in an increase of biomass production by the tested plants. The highest 137Cs radioactivity concentration in above-ground parts was found in Bacillus-inoculated komatsuna Nikko (121 Bq kg DW−1), accompanied with the highest 137Cs TF (0.092). Furthermore, komatsuna Nikko-Bacillus and Indian mustard-Azospirillum associations gave the highest 137Cs removal, 131.5 and 113.8 Bq m−2, respectively. Despite the beneficial effect of inoculation, concentrations of 137Cs and its transfer to the tested plants were not very high; consequently, removal of 137Cs from soil would be very slow.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Special Research Fund of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan titled “Research and development of security and safe crop production to reconstruct agricultural lands in Fukushima Prefecture based on novel techniques to remove radioactive compounds using advanced bio-fertilizer and plant protection strategies”. This work was also supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B):24380176 from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Production Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-5-8 Saiwai-chou, Fuchu, Tokyo, 183-8509, Japan

    Salem Djedidi, Katsuhiro Kojima, Hiroko Yamaya, Naoko Ohkama-Ohtsu & Tadashi Yokoyama

  2. Department of International Environmental and Agricultural Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-5-8 Saiwai-chou, Fuchu, Tokyo, 183-8509, Japan

    Akimi Terasaki, Han Phyo Aung & Sonoko Dorothea Bellingrath-Kimura

  3. Biofertilizer and Soil Microbiology Research Group, Department of Agriculture, Chatuchak, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand

    Phatchayaphon Meunchang

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  1. Salem Djedidi
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Djedidi, S., Terasaki, A., Aung, H.P. et al. Evaluation of the possibility to use the plant–microbe interaction to stimulate radioactive 137Cs accumulation by plants in a contaminated farm field in Fukushima, Japan. J Plant Res 128, 147–159 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-014-0678-3

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