Phytoextraction of chromium from electroplating effluent by Tagetes erecta (L.)

Industrialization has made developing countries ‘hot-spots’ of metal pollution. Being non-biodegradable, they persist in the environment and result in bioaugmentation. To remediate this persistent pollutant, the green technology, phytoremediation has been attempted in the present study. Analysis of variance showed the probability (P) of significant chromium (Cr) uptake by shoot (P ≤ 0.03) and highly significant Cr accumulation in root (P ≤ 0.0001). Cr-induced physiological changes were observed in the form of significant decrease in chlorophyll content (P ≤ 0.004) and significant increase in biomass (P ≤ 0.002), from day 7 to day 35 when exposed to 2, 4 and 6 mg kg−1 of chrome effluent. Tagetes erecta in association with rhizobacteria (Bacillus cereus-CK 505 and Enterobacter cloacae-CK 555) was found to accumulate high levels (94%) of Cr within a short period of 35 days. Keywords: Phytoremediation, Tagetes erecta, African marigold, Electroplating, Chromium, Rhizobacteria