AVILA, JOSE CARLO B, FORTUNATO, PATRICH DAVID V., MAGHARI, CHIVES MIO O. (MARCH 2008)
Philippine Science High School Western Visayas Campus – Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PSHS WVC), Brgy. Bito-on, Jaro, Iloilo City 5000, Philippines
ABSTRACT
Soil lead contamination is a major environmental problem. Increasing attention has been given to the development of plant-based technology (phytoremediation) to remediate heavy metal-contaminated soils.
This study was supposed to determine the effects of EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) and earthworms (Eisenia fetida) on the lead uptake of mung beans (Vigna radiata). However, the Atomic Absorption Spectrometer would not be able to detect the extremely small amount of lead in the plant samples. Instead the researchers determined the significant differences in the root length, shoot length, number of leaves and weight after 5 hours of drying of mung bean grown in lead contaminated soil, treated with EDTA only, earthworms only, both EDTA and earthworms and no EDTA and earthworms (control).
Results showed that means of the plants treated with EDTA and earthworms had longer shoots, longer roots, greater number of leaves and weighed more after five hours of drying. One-way ANOVA and Fisher’s LSD showed that only the shoot length and the weight after five hours of drying exhibited a significant difference.
This experiment is therefore inconclusive because the lead content of the plants was not measured and thus it is indeterminate whether or not the mung beans absorbed a significant amount of lead.
It is recommended that that the number of mung beans per replicate be increased and that AAS be used to measure the amount of lead absorbed by the plants.