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Impact of Silicon and Heavy Metals on Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Bast Fibres Properties: An Industrial and Agricultural Perspective

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Abstract

Heavy metal (HM) pollution in agricultural fields reduces crop productivity and quality, and poses a risk for human health. On these areas, the cultivation of crops devoted to biomaterial and bioenergy production thus constitutes an attractive alternative to food crop production. To maintain the soil productivity and to obtain a biomass compatible with the requirements of industry, the use of the beneficial metalloid silicon, applied on leaves during plant growth, has been considered. A field study using Cannabis sativa L. (cv. Futura 75) was performed during 2 consecutive years on two sites (one soil parcel contaminated with Cd, Zn and Pb, and one taken as uncontaminated control) in the North of France. One half of the plants received weekly foliar spray of Si (2 mM). Photosynthesis-related parameters were analysed in situ, while mineral concentration and fibre properties were determined after 4 months of culture. Our results suggest that Si application improves and preserves the mechanical properties of fibres when plants are exposed to HM stress. Si was also shown to increase by 27% the Cd concentration in leaves and by 30% the Zn concentration in stems. Contaminated fibres and shives containing immobilized HM could be used for specific purposes such as inclusion in cement aglomerates.

Article Highlights

  • Hemp is an attractive species for non-food production on heavy-metal polluted soil.

  • Exogenous application of silicon was tested for its protective impact on stressed plants.

  • Fibers constitute a preferential site for cadmium sequestration in the stem.

  • Si treatments improve fibers mechanical properties in the absence of heavy metals.

  • Si preserves the mechanical properties of fibres when plants are exposed to heavy metals.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financed by ADEME (French Agency for the Environment and Energy Management); Convention MisChar n°1672C0044), by FNRS (Fonds National Pour la Recherche Scientifique, convention n°T.0147.21), and by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (INTER/FNRS/20/15045745). The authors are grateful to Aurélien Dubar and Arnaud Lefebvre (LGCgE) for fibre preparation and soil samples analysis, and to Mr. X. Joppin (Celabor—Research and Testing Centre in Food, Packaging, Environmental and Textile Technologies) for his valuable help in fibre analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Groupe de Recherche en Physiologie Végétale, Earth and Life Institute-Agronomy (ELI-A), Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Marie Luyckx, Mathilde Blanquet, Arnaud Isenborghs & Stanley Lutts

  2. Environmental Research and Innovation (ERIN) Department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), Hautcharage, Luxembourg

    Gea Guerriero

  3. Laboratoire de Génie Civil et Géo-Environnement, University Lille, Institut Mines-Télécom, University Artois, JUNIA, ULR 4515-LGCgE, 59000, Lille, France

    Géraldine Bidar, Christophe Waterlot & Francis Douay

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  1. Marie Luyckx
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Correspondence to Marie Luyckx.

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Luyckx, M., Blanquet, M., Isenborghs, A. et al. Impact of Silicon and Heavy Metals on Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Bast Fibres Properties: An Industrial and Agricultural Perspective. Int J Environ Res 16, 82 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-022-00446-1

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