Effects of industrial effluents on growth and heavy metals accumulation in cabbage in Bangladesh

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of industrial effluents on cabbage growth and heavy metal accumulation. Untreated effluents were collected from nine dumping sites in Bangladesh's Dhaka, Sylhet, and Chittagong divisions: including Narsingdi, Tongi, Hazaribagh, Alampur, Khadimnagar, Majortilla, Bhatiary, Bayazid bostami, and Sagorika. Pb (2.038 mgl-1), Cd (0.082 mgl-1), Ni (0.237 mgl-1) and Cr (0.172 mgl-1) concentrations found maximum in Hazaribagh effluents, whereas Fe (7.171 mgl-1) and Zn (1.938 mgl-1) were maximum in Khadimnagar. Two pot experiments were carried out in CRD with three replications. Untreated effluents had a significant influence on cabbage germination and growth in the early stages. Seed germination was reduced by 19.78% when Khadimnagar effluents were used instead of control. The seedling mortality rate in Khadimnagar effluents was higher (15.56 %), whereas no seedling mortality in the control. Because of the toxicity of heavy metals, shoot length (61.98%) and root length (66.76%), as well as other parameters, were lowered compared to control. The number of leaf plants-1, leaf length, leaf width, fresh weight, and dried weight were all highest in the control, while they were lowest when Khadimnagar effluents used as irrigation. The transfer factor values of several heavy metals (Pb-0.442, Cd-0.400, Ni-0.411, Cr-0.378, Fe-26.317, and Zn-22.951) were maximum when using effluents from Khadimnagar and Hazaribagh. Finally, the overall findings suggest that heavy metals including Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr, Fe, and Zn were significantly contaminated in Khadimnagar and Hazaribagh, with negative effects on cabbage growth and heavy metal accumulation in foodstuffs, potentially posing a health risk.