Effect of organic fertilizer on cadmium phytoremediation efficiency of Conocarpus lancifolius
1Department of Horticulture and Landscape Design, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Kufa, Najaf-54001, Iraq. 2Department of Prosthodontics, AL Najaf Technical Institute, AL Furat AL Awsat Technical University, Najaf-1, Iraq. Corresponding e-mail: hayder.aldulaimi@uokufa.edu.iq
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2026.v28i01.24
This experiment was conducted during the 2025 season in a wooden lath house at the Al-Najaf Agricultural Directorate to evaluate the effect of organic fertilizer on cadmium (Cd) phytoremediation using Conocarpus lancifolius, an accumulator plant capable of absorbing and accumulating heavy metals in its tissues. The experiment was designed using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with two main factors and three replicates. The first factor comprised organic fertilizer (Chicken manure), which was added in its decomposed form and mixed with the potting soil at two levels (0, 25 g kg-1) at a suitable time before transplanting the seedlings. The second factor was contaminated soil with Cd at three concentrations (0, 10, 20 mg kg-1). Treatment with 25 g kg-1 of organic fertilizer resulted in significant increases in plant height, leaf number, chlorophyll content, and Cd content in both the shoot and root systems compared with the control treatment. The addition of Cd to the soil had no significant effect on plant height, whereas Cd addition at a concentration of 20 mg kg-1 caused an increase in the number of plant leaves and the concentration of Cd in the leaves and roots. The interaction between the two factors did not have significant effects on plant height, leaf number, and root content of Cd, while significant increases were observed by the interaction of two factors in chlorophyll and Cd leaf content, 25 g kg-1 of organic fertilizer and 20 mg kg-1 of Cd, in comparison with the control treatment.These results confirm the ability of ornamental trees to accumulate heavy metals, highlighting their potential for phytoremediation of contaminated environments. This offers significant potential for sustainable mitigation of heavy metal pollution, particularly Cd pollution, across diverse environmental contexts. The bioaccumulation, extraction, and translocation factors were all >1. C. lancifolius is a candidate for phytoremediation of soils contaminated with multiple heavy metals. These trees serve as filters for environmentally friendly, sustainable remediation strategies, and their organic matter can be used to treat polluted ecosystems.
