Heavy Metals in Soil Treated with Sewage Sludge Composting, their Effect on Yield and Uptake of Broad Bean Seeds (Vicia faba L.)

Abstract

The final use that may be given to biosolids that result from the treatment of residual municipal waters depends on their physicochemical and microbiological characteristics. Their organic matter content and wealth of essential elements may allow their use for agricultural fertilization purposes. The objective of this research project was to evaluate the physicochemical interactions between soil treated with biosolids and compost from municipal residual waters, and the nutritional parameters of broad bean seeds (Vicia faba L.). The studied area is located in the central region of the Mexican Republic. The biosolids were treated with aerated static pile composting. The experimental work was performed in the area surrounding the East Toluca Macroplant, where nine 2 × 3 m plots were defined and distributed in a Latin square; 3 plots were used as controls (without conditioning), 3 were conditioned with 4.5 Mg ha −1 of biosolids on a dry base, and 3 were conditioned with the same amount of compost. The parameters determined for biosolids, compost, and soil were: pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic matter (OM), total nitrogen, available phosphorus, cation exchange capacity (CEC), exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg, Na and K), total and available heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn); for the plant: height reached, green seeds productivity and yield per treatment (ton ha −1 ); for the seeds: humidity, ashes, fiber, fats, protein, starch and total and available heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn). pH was slightly acid in soil treated with biosolids (6.71). OM and CEC did not represent significant differences. Total concentrations of Cr, Zn, Ni and Cu in soil presented significant differences ( p < 0.05) between treated soil and the control, Cd was not detected. Cu was the most available metal in soil treated with compost (15.31%), Cd and Cr were not detected. The plants had higher growth rates with biosolids (112.22 cm) and compost (103.73 cm); higher green broad bean productivity and higher seed yield, especially in plots containing biosolids, which had rates three times higher than the control. In regards to broad bean seeds, content of ashes, fiber, fats, protein, starch and heavy metals (Cu, Ni and Zn), there were no significant differences between the treatments. Cd and Cr were not detected. In conclusion, it has been proven that the use of biosolids and compost studied in this broad bean crop do not involve an environmental risk, and thus give way to a solution to the problem of final disposition of biosolids in the region.

Nickel accumulation and its effects on the survival rate of Spodoptera litura fabricius under continuous nickel stress

“…The toxicity concentrations of nickel detected in vegetables are up to 30 mg/kg. A ranges of 10-40 mg/kg nickel in plants will be very harmful to some plants [2] . It could be therefore concluded that nickel contamination in agro-ecosystem might influence the phytophagous insects through their host plants to some extent.…”

“…It was reported that almost 40% farmland in Pearl River Delta had been polluted by nickel and the highest nickel concentration in the contaminated land reached 110 mg/kg, while the background was only 27.7 mg/kg [1] . It has demonstrated that heavy metal accumulation resulting from plants uptaking might influence the growth and development of vegetables, for example, the toxic concentration of nickel in some vegetables ranges from 10 to 30 mg/kg [2] . However, relatively few works were available on the effects of nickel accumulation in plants on phytophagous insects.…”

Effects of dietary nickel on apoptosis of hemocytes of Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) larvae

“…The concentration of nickel added to the artificial diets was determined based on the reports by Garrido et al [18]. In the field, nickel could be rapidly taken up by plants and stored in their stems and leaves.…”

Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of the waters of the Jequetepeque and Moche rivers in the environmental bioindicator Vicia faba L.

“…En el país se desconocen los niveles citotóxicos y genotóxicos de las aguas de los ríos, así como los efectos que estarían ocasionando en los seres vivos pues no se ha sistematizado un método para evaluar la toxicidad del agua. En ese sentido, la presente investigación se orienta a estudiar los niveles de citotoxicidad y genotoxicidad de las aguas de los ríos Jequetepeque y Moche ubicados en la Región La Libertad, Perú, usando el bioindicador ambiental Vicia faba L., cuyo genoma 2n = 12, constituido por un par de cromosomas metacéntricos con satélites y cinco pares de cromosomas acrocéntricos, tiene la propiedad de alterarse ante sustancias contaminantes (Bath et al, 2005;Beltrán, 2009;Beltrán y Beltrán, 2016;Garrido et al, 2005;Ma et al, 2012;Menone et al,2015;Mohammed y Ghassan, 2014). La investigación responde a los objetivos de la PNA al proponer un método sencillo, de bajo costo, rápido y sensible que permita conocer el nivel de toxicidad de las aguas de los ríos, sobre todo de aquellas que vienen soportando una alta polución por residuos mineros, industriales, agrícolas, petroleros, capaces de inducir anormalidades en el material genético de los seres vivos (Goswami et al, 2016;Lacaze et al, 2014;Vaz y Marin-Morales, 2017).…”