Phytoremediation of Crude Oil Contaminated Soil by Acacia farnesiana L. Willd. and Spraying Glutathione

Abstract

This experiment was carried out in the field of medicinal plants of the College of Agriculture, Basra University   to investigate  the efficiency of sweet acacia Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willd.  in the phytoremediation of contaminated soil with crude oil in four concentrations (control , 20000 , 40000 , 60000 mgkg^-1), and sprayed with glutathione (0 , 100 mgl^-1). Experimental measurements were taken after 9 months of planting in the polluted soil. The results of the experiment showed the plant's tolerance to crude oil. Vegetative growth measurements include plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves and leaf area, as well as chemical characters  such as, total chlorophyll, carbohydrates and enzymes. The combination treatment of  20,000 mgkg^-1   crude oil and 100 mg l^-1 glutathione recorded the highest increase in plant height (83 cm) as well as the other vegetative growth characters. The plant showed the highest percentage of phytoremediation at the combination of 20,000 mg kg^-1 crude oil and glutathione 100 mgl^-1 it was (56.1 %).