Effects of Municipal Solid Waste Compost and EDTA on Phytoremediation of Different Lead and Cadmium Levels by Sunflower

Heavy metal pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems developing in the entire world. This study was carried out to investigate the effects of Ethylene Diamine Tetra Acetic Acid (EDTA)، Municipal Solid Waste Compost (MSWC) and different levels of Pb and Cd in soil on sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) dry matter، concentration، contents، and uptake index of Pb and Cd. This study was performed in two separate factorial experiments with completely randomized design. Treatments consisted of three levels of Cd (0، 50، and 100 mg/kg of soil) and three levels of Pb (0،100 and 200 mg/kg of soil) with four chelates including blank، EDTA، MSWC، and combined application of MSWC and EDTA. Results showed that in the treatment with 200 mg Pb/kg of soil، combined application of MSWC and EDTA increased concentration of Pb in the shoots of plant، uptake index، and total content of Pb in the plant، respectively، 2. 36، 1. 83، and 2. 13 times، compared to the control. Results also showed that in the treatment with 100 mg Cd/kg of soil، combined application of MSWC and EDTA increased concentration of Cd in shoots of the plant، uptake index، and total content of Cd in plant، respectively، 2. 48، 2. 03، and 2. 11 times، compared to the control. In general، combined application of MSWC and EDTA caused the highest increase in concentration and content of Pb and Cd in plant compared to the control and the other chelate treatments.