Abstract
Toxic heavy metals accumulate in crops from the environment through different routes and may interfere with biochemical reactions in humans, causing serious health consequences. Plasma technology has been assessed for the promotion of seed germination and plant growth in several past studies. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the growth rate of plants can be increased with the application of non-thermal plasma, as well as to reduce the accumulation of heavy metals in leafy vegetables (water spinach). In this study, several kinds of plasma treatments were applied, such as treatment on the seeds (PTS + NTW), irrigation water (NTS + PAW) or both (PTS + PAW). The results of the study showed that the heavy metals accumulated in water spinach were affected by the heavy metals available in the soil. The bioconcentration factor (BCF) of Cd in water spinach decreased from 0.864 to 0.543 after plasma treatment in seed or irrigating water, while the BCF of Pb was low and did not show any significant changes. Therefore, the results suggest that plasma treatment may suppress Cd absorption, but not for Pb. In this study, plasma treatment did not help to improve the product yield of water spinach planted in Cd-added soil. In the future, fertilizers can be used to supply nutrients that are not provided by plasma-activated water to support the growth of water spinach.
Highlights
Thirumdas et al mentioned that the increase in the NO3 − and NO2 − contents in plasma-activated water (PAW) could be the main reason behind enhanced plant growth and seed germination [14]
Our study reported a reduction in Cd concentration in water spinach through the inhibition of expression of Cd transporter in the root by plasma treatment, but an increase in Pb concentration may be related to the activation of Pb transporter in the root of water spinach by plasma treatment on seeds and PAW irrigation
The PTS + NTW treatment group demonstrated the highest reduction in Cd accumulation in water spinach
Summary
Advancements in technology, industrialization, and urbanization have sped up the pollution of the environment. Potential toxic heavy metals, including lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cobalt (Co), and other metal elements in the environment are emitted into water and soil through industrial wastewater discharge, commercial waste disposal and burial, exhaust emissions, and the improper use of agricultural materials. Toxic heavy metals are less mobile in the environment, and they possess a high residual capacity, and are accumulated in the environment. Most of the heavy metals in soil can accumulate in crops, and consumption of crops that are contaminated with heavy metals can pose serious human health issues and present some adverse effects [2]. In Taiwan, the content of the heavy metals Cd and Pb in leafy vegetables should not exceed 0.2 mg/kg F.W. and
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