Lead and manganese accumulation by weeds at heavy metal contaminated sites in Jabalpur

An investigation was carried out to identify the ability of locally available weeds for metal removal at polluted soils along various roads in Jabalpur and adjoining areas. It was found that among weed species, the highest lead and manganese accumulation ratio was observed in Vetiveria zizinoides (17.9, 6.38), Arundo donax (12.5, 6.06) Calotropis procera (5.35, 3.03) and S. indicus (2.73, 4.69). Thus, having higher metal extraction ability, weeds such as V. zizinoides and A. donax can be applied for phytoremediation of lead and manganes contaminated sites.