Nooshin Karimi - Post graduated of soil science engineering, Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan Agriculture College
Jila Baharlouei - Assistance professor of soil science engineering department, Islamic Azad university Khorasgan Agriculture College
Mohammad R. Sabzalian - Assistance professor of Agronomy and Plant Breeding department, Isfahan University of Technology
Babak Rouhi Broujeni - Ph.D. Student of environmental engineering, Islamic Azad university, Tehran Science & Research Branch,

Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal which can be accumulated through a long period of time in environment with potential hazards for the health of human and environment. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) as soil inhabitant microorganisms help plant species uptake water and nutrients and make plant physiological changes to increase growth and productivity of host plants in stress environments. A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF), Glomus mosseae, on the growth and Cd uptake of Vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides L.) in a soil polluted with Cd. This experiment was conducted in which plants were grown in plastic pots (17×25 cm) containing silty-clay soil contaminated with five ratios of cadmium including 0, 5, 10,15and 20 mg Cd per kg of dry soil. Potted soil was also inoculated with Gloms mosseae mycorrhizal fungus (100 g standard inoculum per pot) in 3 replicates before planting to compare with those remained un-inoculated. Tillers were separated from a vetiver collection and five tillers with the same size were planted in each pot. Pots were arranged according to a completely randomized design and kept in a normal greenhouse about three month. The results showed that the presence of AMF contributed to the stabilization of Cd in roots and soil. Shoot and roots dry weight of mycorrhizal treated plants were higher than those without mycorrhizal treatments in the soil polluted with Cd. Inoculated plants with AMF had higher amount of shoot and root Cd uptake under all Cd concentrations than un-inoculated plants. The results showed that bio concentration factor in roots and translocation factor in Vetiver grass planted in cd contaminated soil were more than 1 and less than 1, respectively and therefore it could be a promising approach to remove cd pollutants with cultivation of this plant.

Mycorrihzal fungi, Glomus mosseae, Vetiver grass, Cadmium