Improvement in soil and sorghum health following the application of polyacrylat...

• Author(s): Varennes, Amarilis de ; Mourato, M.P. ; Martins, L.L. ; Cardoso, A.I. ; Mota, A.M. ; Pinto, A.P. ; Gonçalves, M.L. ; Guiwei, Qu
• Date: 2010
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/1586
• Origin: Repositório da UTL
• Subject(s): cadmium; enzymatic activities; oxidative stress; polyacrylate polymers; sorghum
• Document Type: Article
• Language: English

Description

Research Article Contamination of soils with cadmium (Cd) is a serious global issue due to its high mobility and toxicity. We investigated the application of insoluble polyacrylate polymers to improve soil and plant health. Sorghum was grown in a Cd-contaminated sandy soil. Polyacrylate polymers at 0.2% (w/w) were added to half of the soil. Control soil without plants was also included in the experiment. Growth of sorghum was stimulated in the polymer-amended soil. The concentration of Cd in the shoots, and the activities of catalase and ascorbate peroxidase decreased in plants from polymer-amended soil compared with unamended control. The amount of CaCl2-extractable Cd in the polymer-amended soil was 55% of that in the unamended soil. The Cd extracted in sorghum shoots was 0.19mg per plant grown on soil without polymer and 0.41mg per plant grown on polymer-amended soil. The total amount of Cd removed from each pot corresponded to 1.5 and more than 6% of soil CaCl2-extractable Cd in unamended and polymeramended soil, respectively. The activities of soil acid phosphatase,beta-glucosidase, urease, protease and cellulase were greatest in polymer-amended soil with sorghum. In conclusion, the application of polyacrylate polymers to reduce the bioavailable Cd pool seems a promising method to enhance productivity and health of plants grown on Cd-contaminated soils.