Potential use of edible crops in the phytoremediation of endosulfan residues in soil

MITTON, FRANCESCA; GONZALEZ MARIANA; MONSERRAT JOSE M; MIGLIORANZA KARINA SILVIA BEATRIZ

CHEMOSPHERE

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2016 vol. 148 p. 300 - 306

0045-6535

Endosulfan is a persistent and toxic organochlorine pesticide of banned or restricted use in severalcountries. It has been found in soil, water, and air and is bioaccumulated and magnified in ecosystems.Phytoremediation is a technology that promises effective and inexpensive cleanup of contaminatedhazardous sites. The potential use of tomato, sunflower, soybean and alfalfa species to remove endo-sulfan from soil was investigated. All species were seeded and grown in endosulfan-spiked soils(8000 ng g1dry weight) for 15 and 60 days. The phytoremediation potential was evaluated by studyingthe endosulfan levels and distribution in the soil-plant system, including the evaluation of soil dehy-drogenase activity and toxic effects on plants. Plant endosulfan uptake leads to lower insecticide levels inthe rhizosphere with regards to bulk soil or near root soil at 15 days of growth. Furthermore, plantgrowth-induced physical-chemical changes in soil were evidenced by differences in soil dehydrogenaseactivity and endosulfan metabolism. Sunflower showed differences in the uptake and distribution ofendosulfan with regard to the other species, with a distribution pesticide pattern of aerial tissues > rootsat 15 days of growth. Moreover, at 60 days, sunflower presented the highest pesticide levels in roots andleaves along with the highest phytoextraction capacity. Lipid peroxidation levels correlated positivelywith endosulfan accumulation, reflecting the negative effect of this insecticide on plant tissues.Considering biomass production and accumulation potential, in conjunction with the reduction of soilpesticide levels, sunflower plants seem to be the best phytoremediation candidate for endosulfan resi-dues in soils.