Plant germination and growth after exposure to iron cyanide complexes

Abstract

Phytoremediation has been proposed for treatment of cyanide-contaminated soil. This study was conducted to identify plants with the highest potential for phytoremediation of iron cyanide contaminated soil. Multiple cultivars of two cyanogenic species, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and flax (Linum usitatissimum), and one non-cyanogenic species, switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L), were selected for evaluation. The cultivars were screened by quantifying germination and root elongation. Differences in germination emerged among the cultivars (P < 0.05), but these differences appeared to be unrelated to cyanide concentration. The presence of 1000 mg/kg Prussian blue tended to suppress root growth parameters of flax and switchgrass but did not affect sorghum similarly.

Keywords:

• Phytoremediation
• cyanide
• plant
• soil
• contaminant
• bioremediation
• biodegradation
• microorganism
• rhizosphere

Notes

*Department of Agronomy, Purdue University.

^†Mean (standard deviation), n = 3 with 20 seeds in each replicate.

^‡The percentage of seeds that germinated relative to germination in the uncontaminated control soil.