Soil Nitrogen Fertilization Effects on Phytoextraction of Cadmium and Lead by Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.)

ABSTRACT

A greenhouse experiment using 24 plastic pots filled with 6 kg of Pb- and Cd-contaminated soil was carried out. In all 24 pots, soils were heavy metal–contaminated with 10 mg Cd kg⁻¹ soil and 500 mg of Pb kg⁻¹ soil by using CdCl and PbNO₃. Two-month-old tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) plants were used to extract these heavy metals. Results showed that tobacco is able to remove Cd and Pb from contaminated soils and concentrate them in its harvestable part, that is, it could be very useful in phytoextraction of these heavy metals. Increasing additions of ammonium nitrate to soil (50, 100, and 150 mg N kg⁻¹ soil) significantly (p ≤ .05) increased aboveground Cd and Pb accumulation during a 50-day experimental period, whereas increasing additions of urea to soil (50 and 100 mg N kg⁻¹ soil) did not show these effects at the same significance levels. Increasing additions of ammonium nitrate to soil shows as dry matter increases, both accumulated Cd and accumulated Pb also increase when tobacco plants are growing under Pb- and Cd-contaminated soil conditions. Higher Pb concentrations depress Cd/Pb ratios for concentrations and accumulations, suggesting that Pb negatively affects Cd concentration and/or accumulation.

KEYWORDS:

• Cd-Pb interaction
• nutrient accumulation
• nutrient concentration
• phytoextraction

Notes

∗n = 4 observations for each treatment.

^§Values having the same letter within a row do not differ statistically at a p ≤ .05 significance level (Tukey test).

∗n = 24 observations.

∗n = 12 observations.

∗n = 8 observations.

∗n = 24 observations.

^§Boldfaced loadings are >0.7.