Visualization of Cr (VI) Reduction in Vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides) Rhizosphere

Abstract

The present study aimed to visualize the chromium reduction in the rhizosphere of vetiver. Vetiver was grown in rhizoboxes supplemented with metal solutions such as Ni, Pb, Zn, and Cr(III) with sand as a medium for 30 days. At the end of the experiments, it was observed that Cr(III) (40.0 mg kg-1) was accumulated more in the roots than the shoots compared to Ni (14.5 mg kg-1), Pb (12.0 mg kg-1) and Zn (11.6 mg kg-1). But on the contrary, Zn is accumulated more (58.5 mg kg-1) in shoots than in the roots compared to Ni (23.1), Pb (19.3), and Cr(III) (21.9). In order to validate this, root exudate activity of Vetiver was observed visually as a change in pH using bromocresol purple as an indicator. More root acidification was triggered by Pb and Cr(III). The rhizofiltration of Cr(III) to roots can be attributed to the enhanced root acidification and hence more accumulation. The Cr(VI) reduction was also visualized around vetiver roots using DPC as an indicator. This method is test verified and can be used as a quick method to screen plants for their root exudation potential for metal mobilization or filtration onto roots.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.29321/MAJ.10.000638

Pages

72 - 75

Creative Commons

Copyright

© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Madras Agricultural Students' Union in Madras Agricultural Journal (MAJ). This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited by the user.

Keywords