Comparatives Effectiveness of Two VetiverGrass Species (Chrysopogon zizanioides and Chrysopogon nigritana) for Remediation of Soils Contaminated with Heavy Metals | Chapter 06 | Advances and Trends in Agricultural Sciences Vol. 2
The study was carried out at the screen house of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (I.A.R&T) to determine the responses of two vetiver grass cultivars (Chrysopogon zizanioides and Chrysopogon nigritana) on heavy metal contaminated soils, and their potential for remediation. The experiment was a 3 x 4 factorial experiment arranged in a randomized complete block design and replicated thrice. The two vetiver grass cultivars and no vetiver grass were evaluated on soils (soils from mechanic village, urban dumpsite, industrial waste site and an agrarian soil). The absorption of metal contaminants: lead, cadmium, and zinc, by the two vetiver cultivars was determined in all treatments. In mechanic village soil, C. zizanioides absorbed more of zinc than C. nigritana with 7.0% and 5.9% reduction in lead levels respectively. In industrial waste soil, C. zizanioides and C. nigritana reduced the zinc levels in the soil by 27.6% and 18.8% , respectively. Als...