Mahnaz Bagheri - Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord Branch, Iran
Mehrab Yedgari - Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord Branch, Iran
Ramin Iranipour - Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, Iran

In order to investigate the ability of marigold (Calendula officinalis) in phytoremediation of chromium and nickel heavy metals, and the effect of these elements on yield and growth traits of this plant, a field experiment was conducted in a factorial and completely randomized design with four replicates at the Islamic Azad University of Shahrekord in 2017. The test factors included chromium at four levels (100, 75, 25 and 0 mg/kg dry soil) and nickel at four levels (120, 60, 20, and 0 mg/kg dry soil). The results showed that different levels of chromium and nickel had a significant effect on estimated traits such as total dry weight, dry matter and aerial parts, leaf area and plant extract per plant. The dry weight of the aerial part and the root and the accumulation of chromium and nickel in the plant and soil were influenced by experimental treatments. By increasing the concentration of metals, the dry matter and root dry matter significantly decreased compared to the control. With increasing the chromium concentration, the amount of chromium accumulation in the plant and the amount of absorbed nickel of the soil increased, and chromium moved to the aerial parts along with more air borne aerial parts. The highest amount of airborne chromium was observed in the individual treatment of chromium (100 mg/kg) and the highest amount of nickel in the shoot and root of the plant treated with the highest levels of chromium (100 mg/kg) and nickel (120 mg/kg). Pot marigold is an overwintering plant that can accumulate heavy metals chromium and nickel in different parts of it, especially in the aerial part.

Threshold tolerance, Chromium, Nickel, Purification plant, Pot marigold