Alleviating Cd Stress in Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) through the Sodium Silicate Application

Haoying Wu, Xiyuan Wang (), Haifeng Gao, Jiao Chen and Tingting Zhang
Additional contact information
Haoying Wu: College of Ecology and Environment, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
Xiyuan Wang: College of Ecology and Environment, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
Haifeng Gao: College of Ecology and Environment, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
Jiao Chen: College of Ecology and Environment, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
Tingting Zhang: Anhui Blue Shield Optoelectronics Co., Changsha 410016, China

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 5, 1-17

Abstract: Sunflower has substantial potential for the remediation of heavy metals in soil, but its efficiency in Cd-contaminated soil is limited, with high concentrations of Cd causing stress in plants. Exogenous Si enhances plant tolerance to heavy metals, but the mechanism for enhancing the tolerance of oil sunflower under Cd stress is not known. In potting experiments, sunflowers were grown in soil with a Cd concentration of 11.8 mg/kg soil (the maximum value in the Zhundong coal mining area of Xinjiang) and five Si treatment levels (0, 50, 250, 500, and 1500 mg/kg soil). Exogenous Si improved sunflower development, gas exchange characteristics, and antioxidant enzyme activities in sunflower compared with the Cd-only control; exogenous Si application increased Cd concentrations in sunflower roots, stems, and leaves, and Cd was mainly concentrated in sunflower roots. Sunflower biomass increased by 13.83–114.18%, and gas exchange parameters increased by 16.95–36.03%, 30.06–66.82%, and 9.77–14.71%, respectively, as compared to the control. With the increase in sodium silicate concentrations, sunflower antioxidant enzyme activities increased by 8.81–150.28%, 91.35–351.55%, and 35.11–54.69%, respectively, and MDA content decreased by 3.34–25.14% as compared to Si0. Moreover, exogenous Si increased Cd uptake and minimized Cd stress in sunflowers at the seedling and blooming stages, and it potentially facilitated the phytoremediation of Cd-contaminated soils through enriched plants such as sunflower, as well as contributing to the achievement of sustainable development of the soil environment.

Keywords: Cd-contaminated soil; sodium silicate; sunflower; gas exchange characteristics; antioxidant enzymes; phytoremediation; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/5/2037/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/5/2037/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:5:p:2037-:d:1349091

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().