Chelating Agent Mediated Enhancement of

Abstract- Free floating aquatic macrophytes, Lemna minor and Spirodela polyrhiza, were exposed to graded concentration of cadmium in a concentration range 1 to10 mg L-1 for a period of one month to evaluate cadmium accumulation in the presence of EDTA. The EDTA was added at the rate of 1, 2 and 3 mg L-1 separately and the experiment was conducted in triplicate. The water and plant samples were collected at fortnightly interval for analysis of cadmium. At higher concentration of cadmium and EDTA, complete discoloration of plants was observed on the 30th day in the treatment with L. minor compared to S. polyrhiza. There was a significant difference in the cadmium uptake by the plants in the presence of EDTA when compared to the control (P<0.05). Cadmium removal from the water by the macrophytes showed significant difference (P<0.05) in the presence of EDTA compared to the control. Based on the result obtained during the study, it is concluded that, the uptake of cadmium by both the species showed a considerable extent of enhancement in the presence of EDTA. Overall observation reveals that a chelating agent such as EDTA can be used as an additive for enhanced phytoremediation potential of S. polyrhiza and L. minor