PHYTOREMEDIATION POTENTIAL AND EFFECT OF ORGANO-MINERAL FERTILIZER ON LEAD (Pb) UPTAKE BY MAIZE (Zea mays L.) AND SUNFLOWER (Helianthus annuus L.) FROM CONTAMINATED SOIL
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33003/jaat.2025.1104.04Keywords:
Lead contamination soil, Phytoremediation, Sunflower (Helianthus annuus), Organo-mineral fertilizer (OMF), Pollution, IbadanAbstract
The role of organo-mineral fertilizer in enhancing the phytoremediation efficiency of plants like maize and sunflower has not been adequately addressed. Thus, this study investigates the phytoremediation potential of maize (Zea mays) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus) for the removal of lead (Pb) from contaminated soils, with the effects of Organo-Mineral Fetilizer (OMF) treatment. The study also evaluated the concentration of Pb in both topsoil and subsoil before and after treatment with OMF, as well as the distribution of Pb across different plant tissues parts. The samples were assayed for their Pb content utilizing Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data interpretations. The results revealed that sunflower exhibited a significantly higher Pb removal efficiency compared to maize, with control sunflowers removing 75.58% of Pb from the topsoil and 83.58% from the subsoil, while maize removed only 18.83% and 14.21%, respectively. Despite these increases in biomass, OMF treatment did not significantly improve Pb translocation or enhance the phytoremediation efficiency of either plant. These findings suggest that while OMF treatment promotes plant growth, it may not be the most effective strategy for enhancing Pb removal in phytoremediation efforts. The study recommends further optimization of OMF formulations and the exploration of other soil amendments to improve both maize and sunflower growth and metal uptake, as well as long-term field trials to assess the sustainability and practicality of phytoremediation in real-world conditions.
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