Pot experiment to study the uptake of Cd and Pb by three Indian mustards (Brassica juncea) grown in artificially contaminated soils.

Most of the metals-contaminated and fallow lands in Taiwan are a result of irrigation with illegal effluent of factories. Phytoextraction methods can be applied to reach the target of fallow-lands reuse and earn more incomes for farmers. In many studies, Indian mustards (Brassica juncea) were planted in the metal-contaminated soils to study their suitability in phytoextraction. However, the total removal of metals by plants was quite different between accessions. In this pot study, three accessions of B. juncea (cv. 182921, cv. 211000, and cv. 426308) were planted in artificially Cd- or Pb-contaminated soils to investigate the differences between them. EDTA was applied to study its effect in increasing the bioavailability of Cd and Pb and their uptake by these Indian mustards. Experimental result showed that three accessions of Indian mustard can accumulate a high concentration of Cd and Pb when growing in the artificially Cd- and Pb-contaminated soils. Their shoot Cd or Pb concentrations were significantly enhanced, resulting from the application of EDTA. Among the three accessions, B. juncea cv. 211000 accumulated the highest concentrations of Cd and Pb in their shoots compared with B. juncea cv. 182921 and cv. 426308, but its total removal was the lowest due to its lower biomass.