phytoremediation of cadmium and nickelusing vetiveria zizanioides

Phytoremediation is a well known heavy metals remediation techniquefor contaminated soils and water. the present study was aimed to evaluatethe uptake and dry weight response of vetiver grass (vetiveria zizanioidesl.)subjected to different levels of cadmium (cd) (0, 3, 6 and 12 mg/kg soil) and nickel (ni) (0, 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg soil) stress.the experiment was conducted in pots using a completely randomized designwith four replications for three months.concentration of ni and cdwas determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. thedried weight of aerial and underground parts of vetiver grass individual satthe end of the experimentwereused to compareplant weight response to different stresses. statistical analysis was performed using version 18 of spss software and analysis of variance (anova) and mean comparisons were completed throughtukey method.no restrictions on cd uptake was observed in root and shoot of vetiver grass, but in the case of ni, its concentration in shoots of vetiver grass decreased with higher metal levels.the highest transfer factor (tf) among ni treatments was observed at the lowest concentration (50 mg/l) and the highest tf among cd treatments was observed at the highest concentration (12 mg/l). resultsrevealed that ni and cd had a significant (p<0.05) positive effect on shoot and root dry weightof vetiver grass.our results suggest capability of this plant foruse in phytoextraction of ni and phytostabilisation of cd contaminated soils.