Pedosphere 30(4): 457--465, 2020
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2020 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
Intercropping of Sonchus asper and Vicia faba affects plant cadmium accumulation and root responses
Yanqun ZU1, Li QIN1, Fangdong ZHAN1, Jiong WU1, Yuan LI1, Jianjun CHEN1, Jixiu WANG1, Wenyou HU2
1College of Resources and Environment, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201(China)
2Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008(China)
ABSTRACT
      The cadmium (Cd) pollution of farmland soil is serious in the world. The present study investigated the effects of intercropping Vicia faba and the hyperaccumulator Sonchus asper on the Cd accumulation and root responses (morphology and secreted organic acids) of plants grown on soil from a mining area in Yunnan Province, China, under different Cd stress levels (0, 50, 100, and 200 mg kg-1). Intercropping increased the biomass of both S. asper and V. faba, as well as the Cd accumulation and Cd transfer coefficient from roots to shoots of S. asper, but decreased those of V. faba in the 200 mg kg-1 Cd treatment. The Cd concentrations in roots, shoots, and grains from intercropped V. faba plants were positively correlated (P<0.05) with the N,N-diethyl phenylacetamide-extractable Cd content in soil. In the 50 mg kg-1 Cd treatment, intercropping decreased citric and malic acids in root secretions of S. asper. Intercropped V. faba secreted more citric, oxalic, acetic, and malic acid compared with S. asper. Intercropping also increased root length and root surface area of both S. asper and V. faba. At 50 mg kg-1 Cd, root length for S. asper was higher than that at 0 mg kg-1 Cd, whereas V. faba roots had significantly decreased length and mean diameter. Intercropping of S. asper and V. faba is suggested as an in situ phytoremediation strategy of Cd-contaminated soils and may improve the food quality of V. faba.
Key Words:  organic acid,phytoremediation,root length,root surface area,transfer coefficient
Citation: Zu Y Q, Qin L, Zhan F D, Wu J, Li Y, Chen J J, Wang J X, Hu W Y. 2020. Intercropping of Sonchus asper and Vicia faba affects plant cadmium accumulation and root responses. Pedosphere. 30(4): 457–465.
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