Nutrients can enhance phytoremediation of copper-polluted soil by Indian mustard

An orthogonally designed experiment was conducted to study the single and combined effects of N, P and K on phytoremediation of Cu-polluted soil by Indian mustard. Addition of fertilizer N and P significantly increased Indian mustard shoot yield. Two high treatments combined with N resulted in the highest yields, followed by low-P combined with N. In contrast, high P with no N gave no yield increase and K had no effect on yield of Indian mustard. Nitrogen and P increased the amount of chlorophyll in the leaves, indicating that the yield increases were due to enhanced photosynthesis. Nitrogen application had no effect on plant Cu concentrations but addition of P slightly decreased plant Cu concentrations, likely a dilution effect resulting from the increase in yield. Among the treatments, N and P applied at 100 and 200 mg kg(-1) respectively with no K application resulted in the highest Cu uptake. Thus, a combination of low N and high P produced a yield increase in Indian mustard that was more than adequate to compensate for a slight decrease in Cu concentration, resulting in the highest Cu removal from the contaminated soil.