The Effect of Application Spent Mushroom Waste on Cd-Polluted Soil

Abstract

The main source of cadmium (Cd) accumulates in humans is through the food chain processes when the living things uptake Cd from the soils. In this paper, spent mushroom waste (SMW) was used as an approach to reduce the Cd contamination in the growth medium. Thus, different percentages of SMW were mixed on Cd-polluted soil (20000 ppm per soil volume 1000 cm3) as growth medium: T0 (0%), T1 (5%), T2 (10%), T3 (15%), and T4 (20%) of SMW and these treatments were arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) along with three replications. The growth mediums were planted with Brazilian spinach to measure the uptake of Cd. There is no significance among the treatments for the availability of Cd in the soil after 51 days of planting and increasing the percentage of SMW was significantly reduce the amount of Cd uptake by the plant. The application of the SMW also resulted in a positive effect on the plant growth performance as there is a significant difference between the treated and untreated soil with SMW. However, the high percentage of SMW shows a reduction of growth parameters. This research establishes the potential of SMW in reducing the Cd in soil and subsequently reducing the risk of Cd reaching humans.