The accumulation of heavy metals in vegetable and food crops irrigated by different industrial effluents is considered a consequential environmental problem in several countries such as Bangladesh, where wastewater is routinely used as a water source for irrigation of crop fields. The present investigation was conducted to assess the prevalence of different heavy metals like iron, manganese, zinc, copper, nickel, cadmium, chromium, and lead in Indian spinach irrigated with three different (pharmaceutical, beverage and dyeing) sources of industrial effluents. The results showed a considerable amount of heavy metals present in the effluent water and deposited in the soil after irrigation. The plant (root, stem and leaves) also accumulated the heavy metals from the contaminated soil. The range of different metals in effluent treated plant leaves was 177-294, 14.14-23.13, 19.15-33.99,7.53-12.49, 7.38-12.55, 0.98-1.17, 5.26-7.06, and 4.12-7.35 mg/kg for iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and lead (Pb), respectively. The transfer factor from soil to other plant parts was highest in the root for all the three types of effluents and the transfer factor from root to other parts was more than 1 in case of copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni).
Keywords: heavy metal; indian spinach; industrial effluent; irrigation; leafy vegetable
*Corresponding author: Tel.: (+880)1712425972 Fax: (+880)2-49261415
E-mail: mazadul.islam@bari.gov.bd
