Influence of Heavy Metal Toxicity on Plant Growth, Metabolism and Its Alleviation by Phytoremediation - A Promising Technology

Heavy metals (HMs) contamination of soil and water is a serious problem in recent time and cause hazardous effects on humans and animals which ultimately results in destruction of environment. HMs such as Cd, Cr, Pb, As, Co, Cu, Ni, Zn, Mn, etc. are considered as environmental pollutants due to their toxic effects. These metals alter the plant growth, physiology, and development, it involves the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which leads to subsequent cell death, eventually results in the reduction of crop growth and yield. To sustain the agricultural environment, it is necessary to alleviate the toxicity of HMs from the environment. There are number of technologies evolved but, phytoremediation is an emerging technology that uses plants to clean up pollutants from the environment. It is a promising technology for the remediation of contaminated soil because of its low cost, non-intrusiveness, and sustainable features. Hyperaccumulator plants absorb, accumulate and decontaminate high concentration of metals in their above-ground tissues from natural contaminated sites such as mining, smelting, compost, sewage sludge, wastewater, and flyash producing areas. Review Article Ashfaque et al.; JAERI, 6(2): 1-19, 2016; Article no.JAERI.23543 2