1. Coupling phytoremediation of cadmium-contaminated soil with safe crop production based on a sorghum farming system.
- Author
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Liu, Zhi-Quan, Li, Hong-Li, Zeng, Xian-Jie, Lu, Cheng, Fu, Jing-Ying, Guo, Li-Jun, Kimani, Wilson Mwangi, Yan, Hui-Li, He, Zhen-Yan, Hao, Huai-Qing, and Jing, Hai-Chun
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AGRICULTURAL productivity , *SORGHUM farming , *PHYTOREMEDIATION , *SORGO , *SOIL remediation , *CALORIC content of foods - Abstract
With increasing environmental pressure and soil pollution, sustainable energy and food production for a steadily growing world population is a grand challenge. Globally, nearly 12 million hectares of croplands are contaminated by cadmium (Cd), and how to develop a production system for the cleaning and utilisation of such contaminated land is essential for sustainability. Herein, a diverse panel of 166 sorghum accessions was grown in typical Cd-contaminated fields in two consecutive years, and the effect of different accessions and organs on the phytoremediation potential was evaluated by analysing the Cd concentrations of stems, leaves and grains at maturity. Both the bioaccumulation factors (BCFs) and the aboveground Cd accumulation varied substantially and the differences were up to 13–24 fold. The aboveground Cd accumulation was positively associated with important bioenergy traits including biomass, stem Brix, internode numbers and plant height, as envisaged by the high Cd concentration in sweet sorghum accessions, while BCF was significantly negatively correlated with relevant agronomic traits except Brix. The genetic regulation of Cd concentration in grains is different from those in leaves and stems, which allowed us to screen for three types of sorghum resources with the potential to couple soil phytoremediation with the production of bioethanol, safe grains and forage. A sorghum farming system was further proposed, which could reduce soil Cd concentration below the safe level within 12 years and obtain economic returns of about 70.5–169.5 million Chinese Yuan (CNY) by producing bioethanol, safe grains and forage in one season in 30% of the Cd-contaminated soil in China. A sorghum farming system for phytoremediation of cadmium-contaminated soil and safe crop production. Image 1 • Large variation was found in Cd concentration and accumulation amongst diverse sorghum accessions. • Three types of sorghums were selected to couple phytoremediation with the production of bioethanol, safe grain and forage. • A sorghum farming system is proposed for remediation of Cd-polluted soil within 12 years with considerable economic benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
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