JWSS - Journal of Water and Soil Science

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Heavy metals contamination of soil and plants has very important and vital role in relation to health and life of human and other organisms. The aim of this study was to assess the efficiency of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and sommon lambsquarter (Chenopodium album) in phytoremediation of Zn from soil. Efficiency of 0.01M CaCl2, 0.1M NaNO3, and 1M NH4NO3 for extraction of “bioavailable fraction of soil Zn was also compared. Correlation between the Zn concentrations extracted by these methods and plants response (relative yield and shoot Zn concentration) to soil Zn contamination was then evaluated. For this purpose, a calcareous soil sample was contaminated with different concentrations of Zn. Sorghum and common lambsquarter, were grown in pots containing the contaminated soil and were analysed for their Zn concentrations after harvest. Results of this study showed that, common lambsquarter was more tolerant to low and medium concentrations (≤900 mg/kg), but sorghum tolerated high concentration of Zn. Also sorghum was more capable in removal of Zn from soil in comparison to common lambsquarter, so that soils contaminated with low Zn levels (≤900 mg/kg) can be remediated by sorghum. In addition, there was a significant correlation between 1 M NH4NO3-extractable soil Zn and the plants response (relative yield and shoot Zn concentration) to soil Zn contamination.

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To evaluate the effect of supplemental irrigation and seed priming on yield and some quantity and quality characteristics of vetch (Vicia dasycarpa) rainfed maragheh cultivar, an experiment was carried out at the Research Farm of Faculty of Agriculture, University of Urmia, West Azarbaijan province, Iran, during 2011. The experiment was laid out using split-plot, based on Randomized Complete Block design in three replicates. The factors studied were: Supplemental irrigation at four levels: without supplemental irrigation (I₁), 1 time of supplemental irrigation (I₂), 2 times of supplemental irrigation (I₃) and 3 times of supplemental irrigation (I₃). The subplot included four levels of seed priming: Control (C), Water (W), Phosphate (P) and Nitroxin (N). Plant height, pod number in stems, 1000-grain weight, wet and dry forage yield in the second and third harvest and fiber percentage in the second and third harvest, protein yield in the second and third harvest, biological yield and harvest index were influenced by the supplemental irrigation. Wet and dry forage yield in the second harvest and wet forage yield in the third harvest were highest in I₄ with respectively 14.5, 16.72 and 3.56 (tons/hectare) yield and lowest with respectively 7.73, 7.47 and 2.06 (tons/hectare) yield. As a result, applying 2 times of supplemental irrigation and seed treatment with phosphate and nitroxin had positive effects on quality and quantity yield of vetch and they could improve the quantity and quality of Vetch forage.