PurposeThe effects of auxin: indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and chelator: L-glutamic acid N,N-diacetic acid (GLDA) on the growth and heavy metal uptake of Solanum nigrum L. in Cd-Pb contaminated soil were investigated to provide basis for remediation of soil heavy metal pollution.
MethodThe plant height, fresh weight, chlorophyll content, malondialdehyde content, antioxidant enzyme activity, shoot Cd and Pb content of S. nigrum were studied by pot experiment, under IAA, GLDA and IAA+GLDA application, respectively.
ResultThe shoot fresh weight of S. nigrum significantly increased by 12.87% when IAA was added alone (P<0.05), while significantly decreased by 16.15% when GLDA was applied alone (P<0.05). The combination of IAA and GLDA had no significant effect on the shoot fresh weight of S. nigrum (P>0.05). The MDA content of S. nigrum leaves significantly increased by 20.05% (P<0.05), while the activities of antioxidant enzymes decreased when GLDA was used alone. In addition, IAA combined with GLDA increased soil available Cd and promoted the uptake of Cd by S. nigrum. Compared with the control, the content and the extraction amount of Cd in shoot significantly increased by 31.36% and 36.98% (P<0.05), respectively, and had no significant effect on Pb (P>0.05).
ConclusionThe combined application of IAA and GLDA can enhance the phytoremediation of S. nigrum in Cd-Pb contaminated soil.