The effect of EDTA on Helianthus annuus uptake, selectivity, and translocation of heavy metals when grown in Ohio, New Mexico and Colombia soils

The use of two EDTA concentrations for enhancing the bioavailability of cadmium, chromium, and nickel in three natural soils (Ohio, New Mexico and Colombia) was investigated. The resulting uptake, translocation and selectivity with Helianthus annuus after mobilization were also examined. In general, plants grown in the sandy-loam Ohio soil had a higher uptake that resulted in a selectivity and total metal content of Cd > Cr ≫ Ni and 0.73 mg and Cr > Cd ≫ Ni and 0.32 mg for 0.1 and 0.3 g kg−1 EDTA, respectively. With the silty-loam New Mexico soil, although the total metal uptake was not statistically different the EDTA level did alter the selectivity; Cd > Cr ≫ Ni (0.1 g kg−1 EDTA) and Cd ≫ Cr > Ni (0.3 g kg−1 EDTA). Conversely, with the Colombian (sandy clay loam) soil increasing the EDTA level resulted in a higher total metal uptake (0.62 mg) than the 0.1 g kg−1 (0.59 mg) treatment. For all three soils, the translocation of Cd was limited. Evaluating the mobile metal fraction with and without EDTA determined that the chelator was capable of overcoming mass transfer limitations associated with the expandable clay fraction in the soils. Root wash results and root biomass concentrations indicated that Cd sorption was occurring. Therefore limited Cd translocation was attributed to insufficient phytochelatin levels.