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Heavy metal accumulation by Corchorus olitorius L. irrigated with wastewater

Environmental Science and Pollution Research volume 25, pages 14996–15005 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Many agricultural soils in Egypt irrigated with untreated wastewater. Herein, we investigated the effect of untreated industrial wastewater irrigation on the soil and fodder plant Corchorus olittorius (Jew mallow). It also aimed to assess its effect on the growth measurements as well as analyses of soils, irrigation waters, and plants for heavy metal and nutrient concentrations. Significant differences between irrigation waters and soil irrigated with fresh and wastewater were recognized. Wastewater irrigation leads to remarkable reduction in the growth parameters and reduced its vegetative biomass. The concentration of Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, and Zn were high significant and above phytotoxic concentrations in leaves (edible part) and roots of wastewater-irrigated plant. The present study indicated that Jew mallow plant tends to phytostabilize (Cd, Ni, and Mn) in its root and had the ability to translocate (Pb, Cu, Cr, Fe, and Zn) to its leaves. Higher concentrations of Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Zn in the roots than leaves indicate that the roots are hyper-accumulators for Pb, Cr, Cu, Fe, and Zn more than the leaves. The research study recommended that there is a need to protect the soil from contamination through regular monitoring and not to cultivate Jew mallow in wastewater-irrigated soil and that it had a high capacity to accumulate heavy metals in its edible part and causes several harmful health effects for consumers.

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Acknowledgements

Deep thanks from authors to the editor of Environmental Science and Pollution Research Journal and reviewers who improve this manuscript to appear in this good form.

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  1. Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt

    Dalia A. Ahmed

  2. Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Menoufia University, Menoufia, Egypt

    Dalia F. Slima

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  1. Dalia A. Ahmed
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  2. Dalia F. Slima
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Correspondence to Dalia A. Ahmed.

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Responsible editor: Elena Maestri

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Ahmed, D.A., Slima, D.F. Heavy metal accumulation by Corchorus olitorius L. irrigated with wastewater. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 14996–15005 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1675-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1675-1

Keywords

  • Bioaccumulation
  • Heavy metals
  • Polluted soil
  • Translocation
  • Wastewater