Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
6
Ameliorative Approaches for
Management of Chromium
Phytotoxicity: Current Promises
and Future Directions
Punesh Sangwan, Prabhjot Kaur Gill, Dharmendra Singh
and Vinod Kumar
Abstract
Chromium is a heavy metal of serious environmental implications in ex-
cess amounts as it poses a threat to human health as well as plant growth
and development. Considering limited agricultural land for such a large
population and increasing heavy metal pollution in soil, there is an im-
mense need of strategies for alleviation of phytotoxic effects of chromium
and its removal from soil. Several studies have been carried out in relation
to the aforementioned problems with emphasis on application of plant
growth regulators (kinetin, gibberellic acid, brassinosteroids, salicylic
acid) and metal chelators (EDTA), bioremediation using microbial inocu-
lants, and reduction of the toxic form of chromium to a nontoxic form.
These approaches have been shown to be promising in one or more soil
and environmental conditions and plant types. In this chapter, these strate-
gies are discussed considering their chromium amelioration potential from
supporting evidences and challenges ahead for successful implementation
of any strategy as a universal approach.
Keywords
Alleviation
ﾷ
Amelioration
ﾷ
Bioremediation
ﾷ
Chromium phytotoxicity
6.1
Introduction
Since the beginning of the industrial revolution,
pollution of the biosphere with toxic metals has
accelerated dramatically (Swaminathan
2003
).
Chromium (Cr) is a heavy metal that causes
serious environmental contamination in soil, sed-
iments, and groundwater (Shanker et al.
2005
).
Cr contamination is rising due to use of wastewa-
ter and industrial effluents as irrigation sources
for crop production, mostly in the urban lands
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