Phytotoxicity assay of crop plants to phenanthrene and pyrene contaminants in acidic soil

Abstract

Four selected plants (corn, groundnut, cow pea, and mungbean) were tested for their ability to germinate and grow in an acidic soil contaminated with phenanthrene or pyrene, two typical polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The growth of corn root was the least sensitive to, but its germination rate was the lowest in the presence of, contaminants. Among the legumes, the growth of groundnut root was better than others. Corn and groundnut were selected to further test their ability to tolerate a mixture of phenanthrene and pyrene in the acidic soil. The presence of both PAHs led to a greater decrease in the lengths of shoot and root of groundnut than phenanthrene or pyrene alone, but the lengths of shoot and root of corn were decreased to a similar extent as when phenanthrene or pyrene was present alone. The growth of corn root was also better than that of groundnut root when they were grown in oil-contaminated soil. Based on these results, we conclude that corn is the most suitable to be grown in PAH-contaminated acidic soil.

Effect of Corn Plant on Survival and Phenanthrene Degradation Capacity ofPseudomonasSp. UG14Lr in Two Soils

“…In previous studies, corn was shown to be a PAH-tolerant plant (Chouychai et al 2007) with the ability to enhance phenanthrene biodegradation in contaminated acidic soil (Chouychai et al 2009). Planting corn alone or co-inoculation with Pseudomonas putida MUB1 could remove 90% of the phenanthrene (initial concentration = 100 mg/kg) within 60 days.…”

“…The acidic Thai soil had a pH of 3.3, a low organic content (0.99% w/w) and an electrical conductivity of 0.01 dS/m. The soil contained 0.049% nitrogen, 12 ppm phosphorus, and 22 ppm potassium (Chouychai et al 2007).…”

“…However, the survival of MUB1 was not followed during the course of the experiment (Chouychai et al 2009). The plant used in this study was corn (Zea mays), which has been shown to be tolerant of phenanthrene and other petroleum compounds in acidic soil (Chouychai et al 2007). The bacterium used was Pseudomonas sp.…”

Response of African marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) to different concentrations of chlorpyrifos and microbial diversity in root rhizosphere

“…In the experiment, the treatment of mancozeb was adversely affect plant morphology and anatomical traits of Lens culinaris L. [9]. The screening of pesticide tolerance plant is measured some pytotoxcity studies such as seed germination and seedling growth, which can be an effective tool for pesticide tolerant plant [10,11].…”

Risk simulation of soil contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from sewage sludge used as fertilizers

“…Collins et al 8 described the main processes involved in the organic compound (including PAHs) accumulation by roots, leaves and fruits. Chouychai et al 9 studied the phenanthrene and pyrene phytotoxicity in corn and peanut plants and concluded that corn plants can be used to phytoremediate contaminated soils, meaning that corn plants are able to take up and accumulate several PAHs from soil solution. 10 Sewage sludge (SS) is a complex organic by-product of the wastewater treatment process.…”