Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in Spinacea oleracea grown in distillery effluent irrigated soil

Abstract

Abstract:The aim of the present study was to estimate the accumulation of heavy metals in Spinacea oleracea plant grown in Distillery Effluent (DE) irrigated soil. The results revealed that there was an increase in the metal contents Fe (+2.39%), Zn (+14.27%), Ni (+70.45%), Cd (+34.15%)and Cr (+20.46%) of soil irrigated with DE. In case of S. oleracea grown in the DE irrigated soil, it was observed that there was maximum concentration of Fe (353.24±7.94 mg/kg) and Zn (78.95±7.59 mg/kg) in leaves and that of Cr (54.19±8.39 mg/kg), Cd (7.73±1.41 mg/kg) and Ni (66.47±3.65 mg/kg) in root. The value of Bio-concentration factor (BCF) was found maximum for Cr (2.00) in comparison to other metals in the S. oleracea irrigated with DE. The value of Transfer factor (TF) was found maximum for Zn (TF-1.51) for the soil irrigated with DE in comparison to soil irrigated with Bore well water (BWW). The DE can be a source of contamination to the soil as some toxic metals may also be transferred to roots and then to leaves in S. oleracea. The practice of continuous irrigation of agricultural land by DE may increase the risk of metal contamination in growing food crops to cause human health risks.