Evaluating the growth capacity and heavy metal absorption of sweet sorghum and grain sorghum at the seedling stage

Abstract

In recent years, the use of plants for clean-up and recovery (phytoremediation) has been studied and used in many countries of the world. In this study, E-Tian sweet sorghum (ET) and BT x 623 (BT) sorghum were treated with heavy metal cadmium at 5 concentrations (0, 5, 10, 25, 50 mg/kg). The growth of plant; absorption, accumulation of cadmium (Cd) heavy metals in plant parts at the seedling stage have been identified and assessed. The results showed that Cd affected the height and number of leaves of the plant. Especially, Cd accumulation in the plant decreased in sequence: root, stem, leaf. When comparing the heavy metals accumulation in the two cultivars, the results showed that the BT cultivar had higher Cd uptake and accumulation potential than ET. Therefore, BT can be used for phytoremediation of heavy metals in soil but not for providing food and feed.