Abstract:
Abstract: Accumulation of heavy metals (HMs) by ornamental plants (OPs) from contaminated
agriculture soils is a unique technique that can efficiently reduce the metal load in the food chain.
Amaranthus tricolor L. has attractive characteristics acquiring a higher growth rate and large biomass
when grown at heavy metal contaminated soils. Site-specific detailed information is not available
on the use of A. tricolor plant in metal phytoremediation from the polluted sites. The study aimed
to enhance the uptake of HMs (Pb, Zn, and Cu) via amending poultry litter extract (PLE), vinasse
sugarcane (VSC), and humic acid (HA) as natural mobilized organic materials compared to ethylene
diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), as a common mobilized chemical agent by A. tricolor plant. The
studied soils collected from Helwan, El-Gabal El-Asfar (Cairo Governorate), Arab El-Madabeg
(Assiut Governorate), Egypt, and study have been conducted under pot condition. Our results
revealed all organic materials in all studied soils, except EDTA in EL-Gabal El-Asfar soil, significantly
increased the dry weight of the A. tricolor plant compared to the control treatment. The uptake of Pb
and Zn significantly (p > 0.05) increased due to applying all organic materials to the studied soils. HA
application caused the highest uptake as shown in Pb concentration by more than 5 times in Helwan
soil and EDTA by 65% in El-Gabal El-Asfar soil while VSC increased it by 110% in El-Madabeg soil.Also, an increase in Zn concentration due to EDTA application was 58, 42, and 56% for Helwan,
El-Gabal El-Asfar, and El-Madabeg soil, respectively. In all studied soils, the application of organic
materials increased the remediation factor (RF) than the control. El-Madabeg soil treated with vinasse
sugarcane gave the highest RF values; 6.40, 3.26, and 4.02% for Pb, Zn, and Cu, respectively, than
the control. Thus, we identified A. tricolor as a successful ornamental candidate that, along with
organic mobilization amendments, most efficiently develop soil health, reduce metal toxicity, and
recommend remediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils. Additionally, long-term application of
organic mobilization amendments and continued growth of A. tricolor under field conditions could
be recommended for future directions to confirm the results
