Phytotoxic Effect of Landfill and Leachate Pollution Indexes on Germination and Seedling of Phaseolus vulgaris L.

Abstract

Appropriate solid waste management includes leachate management, an effluent that results from the degradation of solid waste, moisture content and pluvial additions to the disposal site. Due to poor management of the landfill, sometimes leachate is likely to reach nearby areas, affecting soil water and vegetal area. A powerful tool to assess the pollution potential of a given leachate is the leachate pollution index (LPI) developed by Kummar & Alappat (2005) that evaluates 18 parameters in order to calculate a value between 5-100 being 100 the highest in pollution potential. The LPI allows the comparison between leachates from different sites and ages, and also assists in the decision making process on leachate treatment. However, it is currently unknown if this value can also be related to the fitotóxico effect of a leachate on Phaseolus vulgaris L. The aim of this work was to calculate the LPI of two leachates and compare the effect on P. vulgaris L (common bean). A greenhouse scale experiment was set up, the studied variables were seed germination per cent (%) and phenotype of P. vulgaris at seedling step after treated with several leachate concentrations from Guanajuato (GTO) and Toluca (TOL), México. Results showed that a greater LPI (34.8) from GTO did not correspond to a largest fitotoxic effect on P. vulgaris. This bioassay could be a completely tool with LPI to evaluate pollution potential of leachate approaching to normal environmental conditions.

Keywords

• Pollution
• soil
• rizosphere
• seed
• xenobiotic agents