Growth, yield and elements content of wheat (Triticum

aestivum) grown in composted municipal solid wastes

amended soil
Mamata Mishra Rajani K. Sahu Sanjat K. Sahu Rabindra N. Padhy
Received: 27 April 2006 / Accepted: 16 April 2007 / Published online: 5 June 2007
Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007
Abstract A commercial formulation of composted municipal solid wastes (MSW) was
used for amending soil at 0, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 kg ha
1
in which wheat had been
grown (eld experiments) and element residues of amended soil and plant parts were
enumerated. MSW amendment caused a signicant improvement in soil quality. Growth
(shoot length, leaf number, leaf area, tiller number, plant dry weight and chlorophyll
contents of leaves) and yield (length of panicle, number of panicles per plant and grain
yield per plant) of wheat increased gradually up to the MSW-amendment level of
200 kg ha
1
. Elements, Ni, Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr, and Pb accumulated in plants from MSW
amended soil, but the degree of metal accumulation was the least in seeds in comparison to
other plant parts (root, stem and leaf). Moreover, Ni, Zn, Cd and Pb, were in high con-
centration in all plant parts. It is recorded that the level of 200 kg ha
1
MSW amendment
caused better growth and yield of wheat, but progressive levels of metal accumulation in
plant parts were recorded due to increase in amendment levels.
Keywords Municipal solid waste Wheat Field experiments Growth and yield
Soil Heavy metal
Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication
of this issue.
M. Mishra R. K. Sahu R. N. Padhy (&)
Department of Botany, Government Autonomous College, College Road, Bhawanipatna,
Orissa 766001, India
e-mail: rnpadhy54@yahoo.com
S. K. Sahu
P.G. Department of Environmental Sciences, Sambalpur University, Burla, Orissa 768019, India
Present Address:
M. Mishra
Department of Zoology, Kesinga Mahavidyalaya, Kesinga, Orissa 766012, India
Present Address:
R. K. Sahu
Department of Botany, B.J.B. Autonomous College, Bhubaneswar, Orissa 751014, India
1 3
Environ Dev Sustain (2009) 11:115126
DOI 10.1007/s10668-007-9100-9
Abbreviations
MSW Municipal solid wastes
OC Organic carbon
EC Electrical conductivity
FYM Farmyard manure
NPK Nitrogenphosphoruspotassium mineral fertilizer
ANOVA Analysis of variance
Cv Cultivar
1 Introduction
Owing to both rise in population and economic development, an array of inorganic and
organic by-products is generated as municipal solid wastes (MSW), which are disposed of,
according to their physical and chemical traits. Disposal of organic MSW (bio-solids, food
scraps, wood, yard trimmings and a few more) as land-lls is conventional and popular
with certain limitations: their leachates contaminate the ground water with decomposing
organic chemicals (Flyhammer et al. 1998), as well as inherent heavy metal loads (see,
Basta 2000; Keener et al. 2000). Often in developing countries or industries, organic MSW
are used for energy production by incineration (Woitke et al. 2001).
The use of organic MSW as compost for crops is not a new solution (see, Kashmanian
et al. 2000), rather needs quantication suitable to specic agronomical practices and
characteristics of MSW, when the use of chemical fertilizers in intensive farming causes
irreversible and alarming deterioration of soil quality (Chrispeels and Sadava 1994). As
organic MSW contain several valuable plant macro and micro nutrients (Huang and Lu
2000), the use of MSW as compost is cost-effective and agro-friendly with a cumulative
effect of lasting nutrient-richness on soil, due to the organic fraction itself, compared to the
use of chemical fertilizers. After amending soils with MSW as compost, both qualitative
and quantitative assessments of toxic elements/heavy metals in several crops (see, Kash-
manian et al. 2000) including rice (Mays et al. 1973; Bhattacharyya et al. 2001, 2003a, b;
Mishra et al. 2005) are undertaken. Moreover, human health and economy are linked to
eco- and agro-friendly disposal/use of obnoxious MSW (with inherent loads of heavy
metals) in agriculture as compost. And, if the use of MSW as a soil-amendant is quantied
with some important crops, the use of chemical fertilizers might be redundant in com-
mercial agriculture that would too minimize problems linked to soil quality and far-
reaching consequences of eutrophication in low-land water bodies.
In Indian conditions most organic MSW consist of by-products from establishments of
cattle, poultry, piggery and biosolids from human dwellings as well. Mineralization of
MSW in semi-solid pits, as in India by soil microbes is a slow-natural process (sometimes
with the anaerobic methanogenesis), but a concomitant addition of sewage-sludge could
fasten the process, which is a key step in the biological processing (Muller et al. 1998).
Interestingly, general and vermicomposted MSW had been evaluated as a component of
the integrated waste management and compost addition system in ooded rice soils
(Mishra et al. 2005). Many reports (Bhattacharyya et al. 2001, 2003a, b; Mishra et al.
2005), consistently recorded mild or heavy contamination of soil and crop with heavy
116 M. Mishra et al.
1 3
metals due to amendment of rice elds with MSW, which could be attributed to the source
and composition of the amendant. Further, there is no report on the use of processed MSW
in fertilization of soil supporting the second major cereal (wheat) for which a considerable
amount of chemical fertilizer is used in intensive commercial farming. The primary
objective of this study was to quantify the uptake and distribution of both nutrient and toxic
elements in a popular and high-yield cultivar of wheat grown in MSW amended soil. It was
anticipated that these results coupled with data on biological parameters that measure plant
growth and yield, would assist in assessing MSW as nutrient supplements and concomi-
tantly quantify levels of contamination. This paper describes the use of commercially
available and processed MSW in amending wheat-soil as an extension of the work on rice
(Mishra et al. 2005) and monitoring of contamination of metal ions in soil and plant parts.
2 Materials and methods
2.1 Municipal solid wastes
Krushi Rashayan, is a commercial organic manure formulation prepared from muni-
cipal solid wastes by open air composting (for 45 days), before sun drying and making
powder of the compost suitable for packaging. It had the following compositions, (per g):
total bacteria count 10
10
, actinomycetes 10
10
cells , fungi 10
5
cells, Azotobacter 10
5
,
Rhizobium 10
5
, phosphate bacteria 10
10
, Nitrobacter 10
5
. The chemical composition was
as follows: pH 78, organic carbon (OC) 1418%, N 1.51.8%, P (soluble) 1.251.30%, P
(insoluble) 2.53.2%, K 1.051.10%, Ca 2.0%, Mg 0.7%, SO
4
0.5%, Fe 0.6 %, Zn
705 ppm, Mn 740 ppm, Cu 375 ppm, and traces of Co, Mo and B. Krushi Rashayan at 0,
50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 kg ha
1
was used in experiments.
2.2 Field experiments
Preliminary experiments with the MSW formulation with wheat (Triticum aestivum) cv.
Sonalika were done in pot cultures to conrm the maturity and stability of the compost and
eld experiments were further conducted in a well-drained soil. A crop needs 120 days for
the harvest. Crops were grown in three rabi (winter) seasons. Experimental elds were
divided into plots of the convenient size of 120 150 cm
2
with ridges of 30 cm width and
20 cm height separating adjacent plots, for a controlled irrigation. Experimental eld was
changed in each season to avoid residual effects of the previous season. Five replicates of
each treatment (eight in total) were designed and 40 plots were arranged randomly. MSW
in graded doses were thoroughly mixed with soils of random plots. Sun-dried cow-dung at
the rate of 100 kg ha
1
was used as the farm-yard manure (FYM). A chemical fertilizer
(NPK) with N:P:K:: 100:287:77 was also used as another control. The row spacing was 15
20 cm and the space between two plants was 4 cm. For chlorophyll estimations, 50 mg
(fresh weight) of leaf samples (50 days old plants) were crushed with 25 ml of 80% acetone
v/v (Mishra et al. 2005).
2.3 General soil analysis
The soil was sandy loam and the pH was measured by a digital pH meter (Digison model
D1-707) with the soil-and-water mixture at the ratio of 1:2.5. The electrical conductivity
Soil with municipal solid wastes supporting wheat 117
1 3
(EC) values of soil samples (soil:water, 1:5) were determined by a digital conductivity
meter (Digison model D1-909). Nitrogen estimations were done with lots of 8 g of air-
dried soil by the Kjeldahl method, detailed elsewhere (Parkinson and Allen 1975). Organic
carbon (OC) contents of soil samples were determined by potassium dichromate in acid
medium in 5 g soil samples, as described (Walkley and Black 1934). Phosphorous in lots
of 10 g soil samples was estimated with the Brays solution with uoride. After ltering
through Whatman No. 44 paper, the pH of the ltrate was adjusted to 3.0 (approximately)
by 2, 4-dinitro phenol, which was followed by an addition of 2.5% sulphomolybdic acid.
After an addition of chlorostannous acid solution (0.1 N), optical density at 660 nm of the
mixture was noted with a spectrophotometer, Systronics 105.
2.4 Elemental status of soil and plant
Digestions of soil samples were done in 20 ml of mixed acids (10 N HNO
3
:12 N
H
2
SO
4
:60% HClO
4
in the ratio of 5:0.5:1) (Allen et al. 1974). Harvested samples of root,
stem, leaf and seed were washed and oven dried at 1108C for 40 h and the dried plant parts
were ground to powder. A lot of 1.0 g powder of each plant sample was digested with 10 N
HNO
3,
and sample-digests were subjected to element analysis by an atomic absorption
spectrophotometer (model, AA 1475, at Regional Research Laboratory, Bhubaneswar);
and for determining Na and K contents, a ame photometer was used.
3 Results
3.1 Growth of wheat
The germination pattern of 100 healthy wheat seeds had an increasing trend with
increasing MSW levels in soil and about a 3% increment was recorded as the maximum
value in a 9-day study (Table 1). And a similar 3% increment was also noticed in soil
amended with the NPK chemical fertilizer. There were signicant increases in values of
shoot length, leaf number, leaf area, tiller number and plant dry weight (of plants) grown in
MSW amended soils. The average shoot length value increased from 56.0 cm (control) to
63.8 cm (MSW 200 kg ha
1
) and 68.0 cm (NPK). The average number of leaves per plant
increased from 7.8 (control) to 8.1 (MSW 200 kg ha
1
) and 8.1 (NPK). The average value
of leaf area of 40 day old plants increased from 1801.2 cm
2
(control) to 2315.0 cm
2
(MSW
200 kg ha
1
) and 2331.9 cm
2
(NPK). The average tiller number increased from 2.1
(control) to 3.5 (MSW 200 kg ha
1
) and 5.1 (NPK). The average plant dry weight in-
creased signicantly and the maximum growth was recorded as 220 g (MSW 200 kg ha
1
)
and 242 g (NPK). Plant growth measured as cited above clearly indicated that MSW
amendments signicantly supported vegetative growth of wheat, but the use of chemical
fertilizer caused the maximum growth enhancement (Table 1). Contents of chlorophyll a
and b gradually increased with increase of doses of MSW in soil up to 200 kg ha
1
, but a
further increase in MSW dose caused a fall in the chlorophyll contents (Table 1). One-way
ANOVA tests (F-values with seven replicate data of six grades of MSW 0250 kg ha
1
)
between grades and individual growth parameters including chlorophyll b indicated that
the increase of any parameter was due to the MSW supplementation. F-values of shoot
height, tiller number and plant dry weight particularly were signicant at p = 0.01, while
118 M. Mishra et al.
1 3
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Soil with municipal solid wastes supporting wheat 119
1 3
F-values of chlorophyll b contents were signicant at p = 0.05 and rest other parameters
(germination pattern, number of leaves and chlorophyll a contents) were statistically not
signicant in ANOVA tests. Further, Pearson correlation coefcient values (r-values)
between data sets of growth (except of FYM and NPK), are being mild to strong positive
corroborate the above conclusion from ANOVA tests (Table 1).
3.2 Yield of wheat
Progressive increase of yield-data (length of panicle, number of panicles per plant and
grain yield per plant) of plants grown in MSW graded soils were recorded (Table 2). The
average value of panicle length increased from 20.5 cm (control) to 28.9 cm (MSW
200 kg ha
1
) and 27.8 cm (NPK); the average value of number of panicles per plant
increased from 2.4 (control) to 3.5 (MSW 200 kg ha
1
) and 2.9 (NPK); and average grain
yield per plant per plant of 20 plants increased from 54.2 g. (control) to 83.5 g (MSW
200 kg ha
1
) and 85.6 g (NPK). The average value of 1000 seeds-weight increased from
46.1 g (control) to 56.9 g (MSW 200 kg ha
1
) and 47.1 g (NPK). One-way ANOVA tests
between grades of MSW and a parameter of yield indicated that the increase of parameter
was due to the supplementation. F-values of panicle length and number of panicles per
plant particularly were signicant at P = 0.01, but data of 1000 seed weight were statis-
tically not signicant in ANOVA tests. Pearson r-values between data sets of yield are
positive, which corroborate the above conclusion of ANOVA tests, except for seed weight
data (Table 2).
3.3 Element analysis of soil
MSW amendments in soil caused a gradual increase in pH from 3.2 (control) to 5.1 (FYM),
5.8 (NPK) and 6.6 (MSW 250 kg ha
1
) (Table 3). EC values of soil samples increased with
increase in MSW amendments from 139 (control) to 1.99 (FYM), 1.94 (NPK) and 297
Table 2 Yield of wheat grown in graded levels of municipal solid wastes (MSW) amended soils
Treatment
(kg ha
1
)
Panicle
length
Number of
panicle/plant
Grain
yield/plant (g)
1,000 seeds
weight (g)
Control 22.1 2.4 54.2 46.1
FYM 24.4 2.7 80.7 49.1
NPK 27.8 2.9 85.6 47.1
MSW 50 22.3 2.6 81.6 49.2
MSW 100 22.4 2.9 82.1 47.8
MSW 150 24.9 3.1 82.9 49.3
MSW 200 28.9 3.5 83.5 56.9
MSW 250 25.3 2.9 82.8 46.7
F-value 4.69 ** 5.35 ** 3.98 * 1.3 NS
r-value 0.77 0.75 0.68 0.37
Note: Signicant at p = 0.05 (*), or at 0.01(**); NS = not signicant
120 M. Mishra et al.
1 3
micro mohs cm
1
(MSW 250 kg ha
1
). Kjeldahl N% increased from 0.25 (control) to 0.29
(FYM), 0.36 (NPK) and 0.78 (MSW 250 kg ha
1
). Organic carbon also increased with the
increase in MSW in soils from 0.41% (control) to 0.48 (FYM) and 0.84% (MSW
250 kg ha
1
). P% too increased from 0.45 (control) or 0.39 (FYM) to 1.12 (MSW
250 kg.ha
1
). K% increased from 0.42 to 0.86 (MSW 250 kg ha
-1
). Pearson r-values
between data sets of these soil characteristics being strongly positive indicated that the
increase of each characteristic was due to the supplementation (Table 3). Microelements,
Ni, Zn ad Cu, and heavy metals, Cd, Cr and Pb increased in soil with increase of MSW-
amendments. Moreover, r-values between data sets of all soil characteristics and element
levels in soil being strongly positive indicated their increase to be due to MSW-supple-
mentation (Table 4).
3.4 Element analysis of the plant
Element analysis of wheat roots revealed that levels of microelements, Ni, Zn and Cu
individually increased step-wise due to MSW amendments (Table 5). Levels of toxic
Table 3 Effect of graded levels of municipal solid wastes (MSW) on physical and chemical properties of
soil
Treatment (kg ha

1) pH EC N% OC% P% K%
Control 4.2 139 0.25 0.41 0.45 0.42
FYM 5.1 199 0.29 0.48 0.39 0.42
NPK 5.8 194 0.36 0.39 0.86 0.61
MSW 50 6.3 201 0.45 0.48 0.59 0.65
MSW 100 6.5 215 0.58 0.51 0.76 0.71
MSW 150 6.4 225 0.68 0.63 0.84 0.76
MSW 200 6.5 285 0.68 0.68 0.86 0.78
MSW 250 6.6 297 0.78 0.84 1.12 0.86
r-value 0.71 0.96 0.95 0.97 0.97 0.92
Table 4 Inuence of amendment with municipal solid wastes (MSW) on soil element status
Treatment (kg ha
1
) Ni Zn Cu Cd Cr Pb
Control 0.93 8.15 0.53 0.41 0.55 0.48
FYM 0.94 7.9 0.51 0.43 0.51 0.46
NPK 0.92 8.2 0.56 0.42 0.49 0.43
MSW 50 1.02 18.46 1.05 0.73 0.61 0.49
MSW 100 1.09 18.86 1.87 1.09 0.72 0.56
MSW 150 1.71 19.07 3.08 1.24 0.78 0.68
MSW 200 1.83 19.18 4.23 1.69 0.83 0.78
MSW 250 1.88 20.85 5.86 2.31 0.98 1.9
r-value 0.94 0.76 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.79
Soil with municipal solid wastes supporting wheat 121
1 3
elements, Cd, Cr and Pb, also had been accumulating progressively in roots; Cd increased
5-fold, Cr increased 9-fold and Pb increased 3-fold, respectively to their control
values. Element analysis of stem revealed that levels of micronutrients, Ni, Zn and Cu
increased steadily due to MSW amendments. Similarly, levels of elements, Cd, Cr and Pb
had increasing trends in root and stem. Cd-levels increased 5-fold, Cr-levels increased
6-fold and Pb-levels increased 3-fold, respectively to their control values. Pearson r-
values between data sets of element status of root and stem being strongly positive indi-
cated that the increase of element contents was due to the supplementation (Table 5).
Element analysis of wheat leaves revealed that Ni, Cd, Cr and Pb were not noticed in
control plants as well as in leaves from plants grown at MSW 50 kg ha
1
amended soil
(Table 6). Further, Cr was not noticed in leaves from plants grown with MSW 100 and
150 kg ha
1
amended soil. Levels of elements, Ni, Zn and Cu increased 2-fold, 5-fold
and 4-fold in leaves, respectively at their MSW 100 kg ha
1
treatments, with respect to
the control. Further, levels of Cd, Cr and Pb increased and 2-fold, 1.33-fold and 2-fold,
respectively to their respective controls, at the level of MSW 250 kg ha
1
(Table 6).
Element analysis of wheat seeds revealed that Ni, Cd, Cr and Pb, were undetectable in
control plants, as well as plants from soils amended with MSW 50 and 100 kg ha
1
(Table 6). Cr was not noticed in seeds from control plants, as well as from plants grown in
soils amended with MSW 50, 100 and 150 kg ha
1
; but Cr-levels increased 2-fold at the
amendment level of MSW 200 kg ha
1
in comparison to its control value. Levels of
microelements, Zn and Cu increased 4-fold and 3-fold to their respective controls, at
MSW 250 kg ha
1
. Levels of Ni, Cd and Pb increased slightly at the level of MSW
150 kg ha
1
amendment with respect to control values (Table 6). Pearson r-values between
data sets of element status of leaves and seeds being strongly positive indicated that the
increase of element content was due to the supplementation. The transfer coefcients of
Table 5 Element uptakes by root and stem of wheat grown in graded levels of municipal solid wastes
(MSW) amended soils (mg/kg dry plant part)
Treatment (kg ha
1
) Ni Zn Cu Cd Cr Pb
Root
Control 0.21 0.5 0.48 0.35 0.07 0.41
MSW 50 0.32 1.27 0.72 0.39 0.09 0.47
MSW 100 0.42 1.85 0.98 0.72 0.12 0.53
MSW 150 0.98 2.01 1.08 0.93 0.35 0.61
MSW 200 1.03 4.83 1.83 1.25 0.42 0.73
MSW 250 1.32 6.48 2.04 1.86 0.68 1.42
r-value 0.96 0.94 0.97 0.95 0.96 0.84
Stem
Control 0.18 0.77 0.35 0.29 0.08 0.35
MSW 50 0.29 1.1 0.69 0.31 0.09 0.38
MSW 100 0.38 1.73 0.93 0.68 0.11 0.49
MSW 150 0.83 1.91 0.99 0.85 0.29 0.55
MSW 200 0.99 2.91 1.73 1.01 0.39 0.68
MSW 250 1.21 4.15 1.88 1.61 0.53 1.23
r-value 0.97 0.96 0.97 0.95 0.96 0.88
122 M. Mishra et al.
1 3
these elements from soil to root, stem, leaf and seed in a plot indicates independent
movement of each element through plant tissues (Fig 1).
4 Discussion
As recorded, seed germination and growth parameters increased progressively in graded
MSW levels, possibly due to nutrient richness. Retardation of several growth parameters at
the highest amendment level of MSW 250 kg ha
1
could be due to toxicity of heavy metals
Table 6 Elemental uptakes by leaves and seeds of wheat grown in graded levels of municipal solid wastes
(MSW) amended soils (mg/kg dry plant part)
Treatment (kg ha
1
) Ni Zn Cu Cd Cr Pb
Leaf
Control nd 1.01 0.43 nd nd nd
MSW 50 nd 1.22 0.73 nd nd nd
MSW 100 0.21 1.83 1.21 nd 0.53 0.43
MSW 150 0.38 1.99 1.23 nd 0.75 0.51
MSW 200 0.49 2.87 1.85 0.17 0.89 0.61
MSW 250 0.58 5.01 1.93 0.33 0.91 0.89
r-value 0.98 0.91 0.97 0.83 0.94 0.96
Seed
Control nd 0.98 0.39 nd nd nd
MSW 50 nd 1.01 0.65 nd nd nd
MSW 100 nd 1.75 1.01 nd nd nd
MSW 150 0.35 1.86 1.01 nd 0.56 0.45
MSW 200 0.41 2.45 1.33 0.15 0.68 0.55
MSW 250 0.46 4.73 1.23 0.25 0.71 0.59
r-value 0.91 0.89 0.93 0.83 0.91 0.91
Note: nd = not detectable
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
root/soil
stem / soil
Leaf/soil
Seed/soil
Seed/root
Cr Zn Cu Ni Cd Pb
Fig. 1 Average transfer coefcient of heavy metals from soil upgraded by municipal solid wastes to root,
stem, leaf, and seed of wheat
Soil with municipal solid wastes supporting wheat 123
1 3
from MSW, as evidenced from literature (Heckman and Kluchinski 1996). The availability
of metal-ions from soil to plant depends on source, pH, electrical conductivity (ionic
strength), redox potential, organic content, cation exchange capacity and soil aeration
(Gorban et al. 1999). As all these soil characteristics had increased due to MSW amend-
ment in this study, the yield of wheat was found to increase up to the amendment level of
200 kg ha
1
MSW, possibly for micronutrients. Further, a study of MSW at 134 mega
gram ha
1
on some American soil increased the tomato yield by 27 and 18% in 2 years in
succession, and the pepper yield by 17% in a year, over non-amended soils (Clark et al.
2001). As composted MSW are a mixture of decomposing organic wastes due to activity of
heterotrophic soil micro-ora (Muller et al. 1998), these help improve the rhizosphere of
plants (Hinsinger 1998).
Increase of both pH and EC (ionic strength) of amended grades of MSW, reported
herein, would facilitate an increased availability of ions in soil particles and their ready
uptake (through soil-water retention, bulk density and sorptivity) by plants, similar to
improvement of such soil qualities during reclamation of mine spoils by MSW (Barker
et al. 2000). Further, the nding of increased levels of ions in each plant-part recorded
below pH 7 in this study corroborates an earlier report that an acidic medium promoted
accumulation of heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cr, and Cd) in plant-parts of Zea mays (a
minor cereal) in some German soil (Woitke et al. 2001). Moreover, metals in environment
present a persisting effect entailing different types of problems in different trophic levels
(Nriagu 1980; Pendias and Pendias 1986) due to nondegradability of metals to innocuous
products, such as CO
2
and water, unlike any organic compound. But at higher amendment
levels, micronutrients (that cause toxicity in higher concentrations similar to heavy metals)
and heavy metal-ions have increased to cause retardations in growth and yield the crop, in
this study.
In some Indian soil irrigated by an industrial efuent, a decreasing order of accumu-
lation of heavy metals, Cu, Ni, Cr, Zn, Pb, and Cd in plant-parts (root > leaf > stem > grain)
was recorded with wheat (Barman et al. 2000). Cadmium and Cr levels in lettuce leaves
were higher, ranging from 0.20 to 0.38 mg kg
1
and from 0.51 to 0.62 mg kg
1
respec-
tively; contents of other metals were comparatively lower, ranging from 1.2 to 5 mg kg
1
Cu, 0.79 to 0.90 mg kg
1
Ni, 3.2 to 4.7 mg kg
1
Pb and 52 to 63 mg kg
1
Zn (Roca and
Pomares 1991). Further, Shauer et al. (1980) found higher levels of Cd, 1.43.9 mg kg
1
in
many crop plants when grown in sewage-sludge-amended soils. Application of organic
waste-laden sewage-sludge to a soil for a seven-year period resulted in accumulation of
heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) in a citrus plant progressively (Richard and
Woodbury 1992). This conrms the persisting effect of metals from the use of MSW of
previous years that contribute to increase of ion-levels in the plant. In the present study
seeds have a minimum accumulation of heavy metals that suggests a ow of ions along
accumulation of stored food in seeds. Moreover, Marschner (1995) has recorded the limits
of threshold concentration in plants beyond which ions are toxic (mg kg
1
dry weight plant
materials): Cd, 1200 mg, Cr 230 mg, Cu 20100 mg, Ni 10220 mg, Pb 100300 mg and
Zn 100900 (Marschner 1995). Herein, the transfer coefcient values of metals indicate
that the accumulation of heavy metals from soil to plant-parts was irregular and varied with
respect to individual metals and these values cannot be taken as toxic for wheat in com-
parison to the standard recorded by Marschner (1995).
It is reported that plants have a wide variation of metal-accumulation when grown in
soil infested with heavy metals (Pendias and Pendias 1986). Accumulation of such ele-
ments in plant tissues with/without phytotoxicity and their subsequent release during
decomposition entails bio-concentration of heavy metals in different trophic levels
124 M. Mishra et al.
1 3
(Samecke-Cymerman and Kempers 1996). It has been known that Al, B, Be, Cd, Co, Cr,
Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se and Zn can be harmful to plants in low concentration, despite the fact
that some are micro-nutrients (Bowen 1979).
The use of MSW as manure in agriculture would trigger the persisting effects of metal
pollutions of the soil and consequently on the crop as in the present situation, notwith-
standing, lower values of toxic ions accumulated by wheat seeds in this study. However,
benecial effects of MSW on growth and yield of crop cannot be ignored. Repeated
applications of MSW based manure in agricultural soils would be more hazardous than
reported till date.
Acknowledgements We thank Prof. L. N. Mahapatra, Principal, Government College, Bhawanipatna for
encouragements and Director R.R.L., Bhubaneswar, for facilities for elemental analyses works. M. Mishra
thanks Mr. Ashok K. Mishra, Principal, Kesinga Mahavidyalaya, Kesinga for encouragements. This piece of
work is a part of Ph.D. thesis of M. Mishra (Sambalpur University, 2004).
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