Effect of Organic Matter Additions on Uptake of Weathered DDT by Cucurbita pepo ssp. pepo cv. Howden

Abstract

Greenhouse studies were conducted to assess the impact of organic matter additions on plant uptake of DDT [2,2-bis(chlorophenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane] from weathered soil. Cucurbita pepo ssp. pepo cv. Howden pumpkins were grown in 100 g of DDT contaminated soil ([DDT] ∼1100 ng/g) mixed with equal volumes of either clean soil, perlite, vermiculite, peat, potting soil, or granular activated carbon (GAC) to give total organic carbon contents of 2.4%, 2.5%, 2.6%, 11.5%, 12.2%, and 27.3%, respectively. As in other studies, root DDT concentrations were significantly lower in soils with high organic matter. Root bioaccumulation factors (BAF = [DDT]root/[DDT]soil) approximated this trend. Root concentrations correlated with organic matter concentrations and not with soil DDT concentrations. Conversely, shoot DDT concentrations, shoot BAFs and translocation factors (TLF = BAFshoot/BAFroot) were not significantly different between treatment groups, except for plants grown in GAC/DDT soil. This suggests that amendments with a range of organic matter contents may be added to improve soil conditions at industrial sites without significant adverse effects on phytoextraction potential of C. pepo ssp. pepo.