Nitrilotriacetate- and citric acid-assisted phytoextraction of cadmium by Indian mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czernj, Brassicaceae)

In a pot experiment the effects of nitrilotriacetate (NTA) and citric acid applications on Cd extractibility from soil as well as on its uptake and accumulation by Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) were investigated. Plants were grown in a sandy soil with added CdS at four levels ranging from 50 to 200 mg Cd kg−1 soil. After 30 days of growth, pots were amended with NTA or citric acid at 10 and 20 mmol kg−1. Control pots were not treated with chelates. Harvest of plants was performed immediately before and one week after chelate addition. Soil water-, NH4NO3- and EDTA-extractable Cd fractions increased constantly with both increasing soil metal application and chelate concentration. Shoot dry weights did not suffer significant reductions with increasing Cd addition to the soil except for both NTA treatments in which at 200 mg Cd kg−1 a 30% decrease in dry matter was observed. Generally, following NTA and citric acid amendments, Cd concentration in shoots increased with soil Cd level. However, due to Cd toxicity, at the highest metal application rate both NTA treatments lowered Cd concentration in the above-ground parts. Compared to the control, at 10 mmol kg−1 citric acid did not change Cd concentration in shoots, whereas NTA-treated plants showed an about 2-fold increase. The addition of chelates at 20 mmol kg−1 further enhanced Cd concentration in shoots up to 718 and 560 μg g−1 dry weight in the NTA and citrate treatments, respectively.