Abstract:
Raphanus sativus
L. (radish) plants were grown in waste water irriga
ted area of Dinapur, a
suburban area in the north east of Varanasi, India.
Soil and plant characteristics were
compared between fertilized (farmyard manure (FYM),
NPK, and FYM+N) and non-
amended control treatments. Compared to the control
, plants grown in FYM and FYM+N
amended soil showed a decrease in concentrations of
heavy metals by 14 to 32% and 14 to
17%, respectively, with corresponding yield increme
nts of 60 and 49%. Plants grown under
NPK amendment showed high availability of the heavy
metals, which, consequently, induced
the activities of antioxidant enzymes and reduced p
hotosynthetic rate, growth, and yield of the
plants. Therefore, application of a particular dose
of FYM alone and in combination with N at
regular intervals may be recommended as a cheap tec
hnique for reducing the availability of
heavy metals in metal contaminated fields.
Keywords
: Amendment, Contamination, Heavy metals, Organic a
nd inorganic fertilizer,
Remediation
.
