Phytoremediation of cadmium contaminated soils by tuberose

The potential of three varieties of tuberose (Prajwal, Shringar and Mexican single) for phytoremediation of soil contaminated with cadmium was evaluated by subjecting the plants to five levels of Cd (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 mg kg⁻¹ soil). Applied Cd did not produce any toxic symptoms in all the three varieties of tuberose except marginal reduction in the photosynthesis rate and total dry weight beyond 50 mg Cd kg⁻¹ soil. The study showed that tuberose possessed the typical ability of Cd hyper accumulator characterized by (1) accumulation of Cd in the shoots of the plant exceeding the critical judging standard i.e., 100 μg g⁻¹ DW and (2) ratio of Cd in the shoots to bulbs >1. It was concluded that tuberose may be an effective accumulator plant for phytoremediation of cadmium polluted soils.