Pb Accumulation in Capsicum annuum

Lead (Pb) is a very stable and toxic metal to human and animals. Exposure to Pb occurs mainly via irrigation of wastewater in agricultural purposes. Enriched with toxic heavy metals with other essential components in such wastewater resulted in accumulation of metals in elevated amount in edible portion of plants which may cause clinical problems for humans. A greenhouse experiment was carried out to identify the accumulation of Pb in root, leaves and fruits of two Capsicum annuum varieties under different concentration i.e. 0, 200, 400 and 800 ppm via root treatment. The metal contents were detected using XRF analysis showed that metals accumulated greatly in root region for both varieties. Leaves of variety FA3 showed metal content only at 800ppm Pb in soil. While, leaves of PA57 recorded steady increment of Pb 8.67ppm to 14.33ppm when soil Pb ranged from 200ppm to 800ppm. However, FA3 is suitable to be grown in lead contaminated area up to 200ppm. Two-way ANOVA indicated variety, treatment and their interaction had significant (p< 0.05) impact on accumulation in different regions of plants.

Keywords:

Capsicum annuum , lead , accumulation , edible portion