Investigation of interaction between lead and vermicompost on morphological traits,photosynthetic pigments, protein content and mineral elements of sunflower

The addition of organic materials such as vermicompost to soil can improve plant growth and increase the solubility of heavy metals, resulted in an increase in their absorption by the plant. In order to investigate the interaction of different concentrations of heavy metal lead (0, 1000, 1500 and 2000 mg L-1) and vermicompost fertilizer on sunflower growth and absorption of lead in its different parts, an experiment was conducted as a factorial design in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Plants were cultured in greenhouse conditions and were harvest after six weeks. The results showed that heavy metal lead had no effect on the shoot length and dry weight of sunflower, but in high concentrations (2000 mg L-1), the amount of iron, zinc, and calcium was decreased and the amount of lead was increased in both shoot and root. In the presence of lead, the protein content of the plant was decreased and the total chlorophyll content and carotenoid were increased. In the interaction of lead and vermicompost, the level of lead and zinc was increased in the root and shoot, respectively, and the content of other elements was decreased. In these conditions, the increased and decreased content of protein and carotenoid, respectively, were observed. There was no significant difference in the length and dry weight of shoot and total chlorophyll. Therefore, the sunflower can accumulate a high level of lead without a decrease in growth in the vegetative stage. On the other hand, vermicompost also improves the phytoremediation of lead by sunflower

کلیدواژه ها:

Growth properties ، Organic fertilizer ، Phytoremediation ، Protein content