Evaluation of the Phytoremediation Potential of Saccharum Officinarum for Cd-Contaminated Soil

Abstract

A pot experiment was conducted in order to investigate the growth of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) under cadmium (Cd) contamination and its uptake and Cd accumulation. The results showed that with increase of Cd concentration, the diameter and burl length of stems, and the biomass of sugarcane decreased significantly. Cd concentration in soil had obviously influenced the ground-breaking time of buds of sugarcane. The values of bioconcentration factor (BCF) were all closed to 1, which showed that sugarcane had a good absorptive capacity on Cd. The Cd concentration elevated from 0.55 to 63.32 mg kg-1 in leaves, 0.37 to 486.26 mg kg-1 in stems, and 2.26 to 2776.22 mg kg-1 in roots while Cd concentration rose from 0.22 to 1000 mg kg-1 in soil. Cd concentration in roots was about 6-45-fold higher than those in stems and leaves. These results suggested that sugarcane has a high ability to tolerate and accumulate Cd, so it might be a promising plant to be used for phytoremediation of Cd contaminated soil.