International Journal of Scientific Research in Environmental Sciences (IJSRES), 1(3), pp. 44-49, 2013 Available online at http://www.ijsrpub.

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Full Length Research Paper Comparative Phytoremediation of Chromium-Contaminated Soils by Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench
Nooshin Karimi
Department of Soil Science, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran; Email: nkarimi777@gmail.com
Received 15 January 2013; Accepted 20 February 2013

Abstract. A study was carried out to investigate the potential of alfalfa and sorghum for phytoremediation of soil contaminated chromium. Soil samplings of 0-10 cm depths were taken. The experiment consisted of five treatments in which chromium concentration varied from 0 to 10 mg/kg soil (blank (T1), soil contaminated with 2 mg/kg concentration of chromium (T2), soil contaminated with 4 mg/kg concentration of chromium (T3), soil contaminated with 8 mg/kg concentration of chromium (T4), soil contaminated with 10 mg/kg concentration of chromium (T5). Alfalfa and sorghum were grown for 50 days after seeding in pots containing 5 kg of these soils. Chromium concentrations in soil after phytoremediation by alfalfa were 0.74, 1.16, 2.08, and 4.00 in T2, T3, T4, and T5, respectively. Chromium concentrations in soil after phytoremediation by sorghum were 0.84, 1.36, 2.44, and 5.12 in T2, T3, T4, and T5, respectively. Concentration of chromium in soil in all treatments after phytoremediation by alfalfa was decreased between 60-74%, and after phytoremediation by sorghum was decreased between 51.2-69.5%. The evidence provided by this experiment indicated that alfalfa and sorghum are effective accumulator plants for phytoremediation of chromium, but the potential of alfalfa was more than sorghum for phytoremediation of chromium polluted soils. Key words: Alfalfa, Chromium, Phytoremediation, Soil contaminated, Sorghum

1. INTRODUCTION Contaminated soils and waters pose a major environmental and human health problem, which may be partially solved by the emerging phytoremediation technology. The use of plants for the removal of xenobiotics and heavy metals from spillage sites, sewage waters, sludges, soils and polluted areas has become an important experimental and practical approach over the last 15 years (Mojiri, 2012). Remediation of heavy metals polluted soil could be carried out using physico-chemicals processes such as ion-exchange, precipitation, reverse osmosis, evaporation and chemical reduction; however, the measures required external man-made resources and costly. Attention was given to phytoremediation by which plant is applied to absorb, transform and detoxify heavy metals. The phytoremediation method was simple, efficient, cost effective and environmental friendly (Mangkoedihardjo and Surahmaida, 2008). The phytoremediation of metal-contaminated soils offers a low cost method for soil remediation, and some extracted metals may be recycled for value. Plants that accumulate metals to high concentrations are sometimes referred to as hyperaccumulators (Mojiri, 2011). Chromium (Cr) is an environmental pollutant element and ranks seventh in abundance in the earth crust. The major contributors of Cr contamination are the leather tanning, electroplating, and stainless steel

industries (Dheri et al., 2007). Many investigations were conducted about phytoremediation of chromium contaminated soils (Mangkoedihardjo et al., 2008; Su et al., 2005; Sudha and Kanmani, 2009). Dheri et al. (2007) investigated comparative phytoremediation of chromium-contaminated soils by fenugreek, spinach, and raya. These results showed fenugreek, spinach, and raya are affective for phytoremediation of chromium contaminated soil. Medicago sativa (alfalfa) is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae. It is a cool season perennial legume from three to twelve years, depending upon climate and variety. The plants grow to a height of up to 1 metre (3 ft), and have a deep root system sometimes stretching to 4.5 meters (15 ft), which makes it very resilient, especially to droughts. It has a tetraploid genome (Singh et al., 2009). Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents in addition to the southwest Pacific and Australasia. Sorghum is in the subfamily Panicoideae and the tribe Andropogoneae (the tribe of big bluestem and sugar cane) (Wikipedia, 2012). Some researchers were reported that alfalfa, and sorghum could be used for phytoremediation of heavy metals from contaminated soils (Fellet and Marchiol,

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Karimi Comparative Phytoremediation of Chromium-Contaminated Soils by Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench

2011; Vamerali et al., 2010; Singh et al., 2009; Kaimi et al., 2007). The objectives of this study were to investigate the potential of alfalfa and sorghum for chromiumcontaminated soil. 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

Soil samples were air dried in a green house at a temperature between 25C and 30C and sifted through a 2- mm mesh sieve for preparation of soil samples (Mojiri and Jalalian, 2011). The plant tissues were prepared for laboratory analysis by Wet Digestion method (Campbell and Plank, 1998). 2.2. Laboratory determinations

2.1. Site description, Sample preparation The experiment was carried out at green house in 2011. Five kilograms of soil per treatment in earthen pots was treated with five levels of chromium (0 (T1), 2 (T2), 4 (T3), 8 (T4), and 10.0 (T5) mg Cr kg-1 soil through dipotassium chromate (K2Cr2O7), equilibrated for 21 days at field-capacity moisture content (Dheri et al., 2007), and then alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench were grown for 50 days after seeding.
EC (dSm-1) 1.00

Soil pH was measured on saturated soil paste, the electrical conductivity (EC) was measured on saturation extracts (Richards, 1954); Soil texture was determined by the Bouyoucos hydrometer method (Gee and Bauder 1986). Concentration of extractable chromium is soil and plant samples were carried out in accordance the Standard Methods (APHA, 2005). Soil properties before phytoremediation are shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Soil properties before phytoremediation

pH 7.00 Clay (%) 14.00 Sand (%) 41.42 Cr (ppm) 0.000

2.3. Statistical analysis Data will be analyzed using SPSS software. Comparison between the average levels treatments will be performed by Duncans test. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The comparing the extractable chromium in soil after phytoremediation can be seen in Table 2 and Figure 1 and 2.

According to Table 2, Cr (ppm) was recorded in order of 0.74, 1.16, 2.08, and 4.0 in soil after phytoremediation by alfalfa, and it was found in order of 0.84, 1.36, 2.44, and 5.12 after phytoremediation by sorghum in T2, T3, T4 and T5, respectively. Based on Table 2 and Figures 1 and 2, the chromium concentration was reduced after phytoremediation by alfalfa in order of 74%, 71%, 63%, and 60% in T4, T3, T3, and T5, respectively. It was clear that maximum reduction of chromium concentration was in T8.

Table 2: Comparing the extractable chromium in soil after phytoremediation by alfalfa and sorghum
Chromium (ppm) in soil after phytoremediation by alfalfa 0.74a+ 1.16b 2.08c 4.00d Chromium (ppm) in soil after phytoremediation by sorghum 0.84e 1.36f 2.44g 5.12h

T2 (soil contaminated with 2 mg/kg concentration of chromium) T3 (soil contaminated with 4 mg/kg concentration of chromium) T4 (soil contaminated with 8 mg/kg concentration of chromium) T5(soil contaminated with 10 mg/kg concentration of chromium)
+ Numbers followed by same letters in each column are not significantly (P<0.05) different according to the DMR test.

According to Table 2 and Figures 1 and 2, the chromium concentration reduced after phytoremediation by sorghum in order of 69.5%,

66%, 58%, and 51.2% in T4, T3, T3, and T5, respectively. It was clear that maximum reduction of chromium concentration was in T8.

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International Journal of Scientific Research in Environmental Sciences (IJSRES), 1(3), pp. 44-49, 2013

Fig. 1: Extractable chromium in soil after phytoremediation by alfalfa

*p index showed chromium concentration in soil after phytoremediation

Fig. 2: Extractable chromium in soil after phytoremediation by sorghum

*p index showed chromium concentration in soil after phytoremediation

Data on the extractable concentration of chromium in alfalfa and sorghum in the applied treatments can be seen in Table 3. Based on table 3, accumulation of chromium is roots of alfalfa were more than in shoots of alfalfa. Peralta-Videa et al. (2002) reported that uptake and accumulation heavy metals by roots of alfalfa plant were more than by shoots. According to table 3, accumulation of chromium is roots of sorghum were more than in shoots of sorghum. Jadia and Fulekar (2009) reported heavy metals were efficiently taken up mainly by roots of sorghum plant at all the evaluated concentrations of 5, 10, 20, 40 and 50 ppm. Based on Tables 2, and 3, it was clear that the potential of alfalfa was more than sorghum for phytoremediation of chromium polluted soils. The accumulation of heavy metals in roots was more important in shoots this is in line with findings of Revathi et al. (2011), Mojiri (2011), Dheri et al. (2007), and Abou-Shanab et al. (2007). According to this study, alfalfa and sorghum are effective accumulator plants for phytoremediation of

chromium. Shahriari et al. (2006) investigated the effect of mixed plants alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and fescue (Festuca arundinacea) on the phytoremediation of contaminated soil. They reported that alfalfa is an effective plant for phytoremediation of soil contaminated. Revathi et al. (2011) investigated phytoremediation of chromium contaminated soil using sorghum plant. They reported that sorghum is one of the best Hyperaccumulators for the phytoremediation of metal polluted sites. 4. CONCLUSION The phytoremediation of metal-contaminated soils offers a low cost method for soil remediation, and some extracted metals may be recycled for value. This study showed that alfalfa and sorghum could be effective for phytoremediation of chromium from soil. In the studies for phytoremediation of chromium must be mentioned that accumulation of chromium in the roots is more important than in the shoots.

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Karimi Comparative Phytoremediation of Chromium-Contaminated Soils by Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench Table 3: Comparing the extractable chromium in alfalfa and sorghum tissues
Chromium (ppm) in alfalfa T1 (Blank) Root 0.00a Shoot 0.00a 0.00a T2 (soil contaminated with 2 mg/kg concentration of chromium) Root 0.98b 0.86b Shoot 0.18c 0.15c T3 (soil contaminated with 4 mg/kg concentration of chromium) Root 2.73d 2.51d Shoot 0.92e 0.86e T4 (soil contaminated with 8 mg/kg concentration of chromium) Root 4.39f 4.00f Shoot 1.98g 1.76g T5 (soil contaminated with 10 mg/kg concentration of chromium) Root 6.08h 5.71h Shoot 3.22i 2.91i
+ Numbers followed by same letters in each column are not significantly (P<0.05) different according to the DMR test.

Chromium (ppm) in sorghum

0.00a

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Jadia CD, Fulekar MH (2009). Phytoremediation of heavy metals: Recent techniques. African Journal of Biotech., 8 (6): 921-928. Kaimi E, Mukaidani T, Tamaki M (2007). Screening of Twelve Plant Species for Phytoremediation of Petroleum Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Soil. Plant Prod. Sci., 10(2): 211-218. Mangkoedihardjo S, Ratnawati R, Alfianti N (2008). Phytoremediation of Hexavalent Chromium Polluted Soil Using Pterocarpus indicus and Jatropha curcas L. World Applied Sciences J., 4(3): 338-342. Mangkoedihardjo S, Surahmaida (2008). Jatropha curcas L. for Phytoremediation of Lead and Cadmium Polluted Soil. World Applied Sciences J., 4(4): 519-522. Mojiri A (2012). Phytoremediation of heavy metals from municipal wastewater by Typhadomingensis. African Journal of Microbiology Res., 6(3): 643-647. Mojiri A (2011). The Potential of Corn (Zea mays) for Phytoremediation of Soil Contaminated with Cadmium and Lead. Journal of Biological & Environmental Sci., 5(13): 22-17. Mojiri A, Jalalian A (2011). Relationship between growth of Nitraria schoberi and some soil properties. Journal of Animal and Plant Sci., 21(2): 246-250. Peralta-Videa JR, Gardea-Torresdey JL, Gomez E, Tiemann KJ, Parsons JG, Rosa GD, Carrillo G

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International Journal of Scientific Research in Environmental Sciences (IJSRES), 1(3), pp. 44-49, 2013

(2002). Potential of Alfalfa Plant to Phytoremediate Individually Contaminated Montmorillonite-Soils with Cadmium (II), Chromium (VI), Copper (II), Nickel (II), and Zinc (II). Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol., 69: 7481. Revathi K, Haribabu TE, Sudha PN (2011). Phytoremediation of Chromium contaminated soil using Sorghum plant. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, 2(2): 417-428. Richards L (1954), Diagnosis and Improvement of saline and alkali soil. U.S. Salinity laboratory Handbook No 60. Shahriari MK, Firrozabadi GS, Tehrani DM, Padidaran M. (2006). effect of mixed plants alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and fescue (Festuca arundinacea) on the phytoremediation of contaminated soil. Environmental Sci., 13: 3340 (in Persian).

Singh A, Eapen S, Fulekar MH (2009). Potential of Medicago sativa for uptake of cadmium from contaminated environment. Romanian Biotechnological Letters, 14(1): 4164-4169 Su Y, Han FX, Sridhar BB, Monts DL (2005), Phytotoxicity and phytoaccumulation of trivalent and hexavalent chromium in brake fern. Environ Toxicol Chem., 24(8): 20192026. Sudha MC, Kanmani S (2009). Phytoremediation of chromium contaminated soils using Helianthus annuus (sunflower). Journal of Ecotoxicology & Environmental Monitoring, 19(1): 57-63. Vamerali T, Bandiera M, Mosca G (2010). Field crops for phytoremediation of metal-contaminated land; A review. Environ. Chem. Lett., 8: 117. Wikipedia (2012). Sorghum. Available online at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorghum [Accessed 23 June 2012].

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Karimi Comparative Phytoremediation of Chromium-Contaminated Soils by Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench

Nooshin Karimi is a MSc student in soil science, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch Islamic Azad University. Her area of specialization is phytoremediation, bioremediation, and soil pollutions.

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