Phytoremediation potential of Alocasia microrrhiza grown on soil collected from selected dumpsites in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of enhanced phytoextraction on the accumulation of heavy metals by Alocasia microrrhiza cultivated on soil collected from selected dumpsites in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The application of 1g/kg EDTA decreased the heights of plants relative to control, but significantly increased the concentration of heavy metals in various tissues of the plant. Notably, concentration of Pb and Cu were greater than the threshold value of 100mg/kg, indicative of the fact that Alocasia microrrhiza could be a good candidate for Pb and Cuphytoextraction. BF, TF and RR values (1.1–1.6), (4.3-4.8) and (1.4–2.3) revealed the effectiveness of the plant to translocate Pb and Cu to their harvestable portion. RRs values greater than one also indicated the efficiency of plant under chelate-induced phytoextraction. However, the concentration of heavy metals did not vary significantly at p < 0.05 (LSD test) in all dumpsites investigated.

Keywords

• Phytoremediation
• Alocasia
• dumpsites
• lead
• copper accumulation