Use of Vermicompost in Pepper Cultive in Cd Contaminated Soil
Abstract
The recurring presence of heavy metals in the soil may contaminate vegetables that are subsequently consumed by humans. Depending on the concentration, the presence of substances such as cadmium (Cd) in the human body can lead to many diseases. Due to this, it is important to conduct studies that provide quantification and removal possibilities of these elements in contaminated soils. In this sense, the aim of this paper is to evaluate the use of vermicompost to reduce Cd uptake in pepper and study of the effects in the plants growing. To conduct the experiments, plastic worm reactors containing earthworms (Eisenia andrei) were prepared and filled with different organic matters. After 60 days with controlled temperature and humidity, the vermicompost was collected and mixed with Cd contaminated soil in different proportions, such 0:100; 25:75; 50:50; 75:25 and 100:0 of vermicompost:soil, respectively. After, plants of Capsicum annuum L. were cultivated and 70 days later, the plants were harvested, cleaned, measured, weighed and dried. Moisture, height, fresh and dry masses, fruit protein and Cd were analyzed in the vegetables. The results showed Cd presence in the plants affected the development of the peppers’ shoots and caused a reduction fruits production. Using vermicompost mixed with the soil improved plant development and uptake Cd was reduced to the plants. The best results of plant development were reached in proportions 50% of vermicompost. In conclusion, it is possible to grow pepper on soil contaminated with Cd provided it has a certain amount of vermicompost in the substrate.References
. S. Nemmiche, P. Guiraud. “Cadmium-induced oxidative damages in the human BJAB cells correlate with changes in intracellular trace elements levels and zinc transporters expression”. Toxicol. Vitr., vol. 37, pp. 169-177, 2016.
. J. Pastuszak, P. Kopeć, A. Plazek, K. Gondek, A. Szczerba, M. Hornyák, et al. “Cadmium accumulation in the grain of durum wheat is associated with salinity resistance degree”. Plant Soil Environ., vol. 66, pp. 257-263, 2020.
. L. Huang, H. C. B. Hansen, H. Wang, J. Mu, Z. Xie, L. Zheng, et al. “Effects of sulfate on cadmium uptake in wheat grown in paddy soil - pot experimente”. Plant Soil Environ., vol. 65, pp. 602-608, 2020.
. K. C. Baby, T. V. Ranganathan. “Effect of enzyme pretreatment on yield and quality of fresh green chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) oleoresin and its major capsaicinoids”. Biocatal Agric Biotechnol., vol. 7, pp. 95-101, 2016.
. S. A. A. A. N Almuktar., M. Scholz M. “Mineral and biological contamination of soil and Capsicum annuum irrigated with recycled domestic wastewater”. Agric Water Manag., vol. 167, pp. 95-109, 2016.
. T. G. Ammari, R. Tahhan, N. Al Sulebi, A. Tahboub, R. A. Ta’any, S. Abubaker. “Impact of intensive greenhouse production system on soil quality”. Pedosphere, vol. 25, pp. 282-293, 2015.
. H. Shan, S. Su, R. Liu, S. Li. “Cadmium availability and uptake by radish (Raphanus sativus) grown in soils applied with wheat straw or composted pig manure”. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res., vol. 23, pp. 15208-15217, 2016.
. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária – EMBRAPA. Centro Nacional de Pesquisa Solos: Manual de Métodos de Análise de Solo. Rio de Janeiro, 1997.
. W. Horwitz, G. W. Latimer. Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Analytical Chemists International. Gaithersburg, 2005.
. A. N. Kämpf. Produção Comercial de Plantas Ornamentais. Guaíba: Agrolivros, 2005.
. V. Boaro, S. F. Schwarz, P. V. D. Souza, W. Soares, G. V. Lourosa. “Enxofre elementar no manejo do pH de substrato orgânico alcalino”. Ciência Rural, vol. 44, pp. 2111-2117, 2014.
. A. N. Kämpf, C. S. Fior, C. Leonhardt. “Lowering pH value with elemental sulfur in the substrate for ex vitro acclimatization”. Acta Hortic., vol. 812, pp. 415-420, 2009.
. K. Liu, J. Lv, W. He, H. Zhang, Y. Cao, Y. Dai. “Major factors influencing cadmium uptake from the soil into wheat plants”. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf., vol. 113, pp. 207-213, 2015.
. A. K. Pandey, S. D. Pandey, V. Misra. “Stability constants of metal-humic acid complexes and its role in environmental detoxification”. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, vol. 47, pp. 195-200, 2000.
. M. A. Khan, X. Ding, S. Khan, M. L. Brusseau, A. Khan, J. Nawab. “The influence of various organic amendments on the bioavailability and plant uptake of cadmium present in mine-degraded soil”. Science of the total environment, vol. 636, pp. 810-817, 2018.
. T. Cavins, B. Whipker, W. Fonteno, B. Harden, I. McCALL, J. Gibson. “Monitoring and managing pH and EC using the PourThru extraction method”. Hortic. Inf. Leafl., vol. 590, pp. 1–17, 2000.
. G. Schafer, P. Vitor, D. D. E. Souza, C. S. Fior. “Um panorama das propriedades físicas e químicas de substratos utilizados em horticultura no sul do Brasil”. Ornam. Hortic., vol. 21, pp. 299-306, 2015.
. K. M. Goh, R. J. Haynes. “Evaluation of potting media for commercial nursery production container-grown plants”. New Zeland Journal of Agricultural Research, vol. 20, pp. 363-370, 2012.
. J. Xin, B. Huang, H. Dai, W. Zhou, Y. Yi, L. Peng. “Roles of rhizosphere and root-derived organic acids in Cd accumulation by two hot pepper cultivars”. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res., vol. 22, pp. 6254-6261, 2015.
. A. Khan, S. Khan, M. Alam, M. A. Khan, M. Aamir, Z. Qamar, et al. “Toxic metal interactions affect the bioaccumulation and dietary intake of macro- and micro-nutrients”. Chemosphere, vol. 146, pp. 121-128, 2016.
. L. Goswami, A. K. Patel, G. Dutta, P. Bhattacharyya, N. Gogoi, S. S. Bhattacharyya. “Hazard remediation and recycling of tea industry and paper mill bottom ash through vermiconversion”. Chemosphere, vol. 92, pp. 708-713, 2013.
. I. Wendling, D. Guastala, R. Dedecek. “Características físicas e químicas de substratos para produção de mudas de Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil.”. Rev. Árvore., vol. 31, pp. 209-220, 2007.
. A. Zaniewicz-Bajkowska, R. Rosa, J. Franczuk, E. Kosterna. “Direct and secondary effect of liming and organic fertilization on cadmium content in soil and in vegetables”. Plant Soil Environ., vol. 53, pp. 473-481, 2007.
. A. C. Zandron, C. D. S. Rodrigues, C. A. Machado, M. P. Braga, P. R. R. Chagas. “Influência do substrato no desenvolvimento de muda e o reflexo na produção de tomate T49-12”. Horticultura Brasileira, v. 21, 2003.
. M. P. Benavides, S. M. Gallego, M. L. Tomaro. “Cadmium toxicity in plants”. Braz. J. Plant Physiol., vol. 17, pp. 21-34, 2005.
. J. Balík, J. Cerný, M. Kulhánek, O. Sedlár. “Soil carbon transformation in long-term field experiments with different fertilization treatments”. Plant Soil Environ., vol. 64, pp. 578-586, 2018.
Copyright (c) 2021 American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences (ASRJETS)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who submit papers with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
- By submitting the processing fee, it is understood that the author has agreed to our terms and conditions which may change from time to time without any notice.
- It should be clear for authors that the Editor In Chief is responsible for the final decision about the submitted papers; have the right to accept\reject any paper. The Editor In Chief will choose any option from the following to review the submitted papers:A. send the paper to two reviewers, if the results were negative by one reviewer and positive by the other one; then the editor may send the paper for third reviewer or he take immediately the final decision by accepting\rejecting the paper. The Editor In Chief will ask the selected reviewers to present the results within 7 working days, if they were unable to complete the review within the agreed period then the editor have the right to resend the papers for new reviewers using the same procedure. If the Editor In Chief was not able to find suitable reviewers for certain papers then he have the right to accept\reject the paper.B. sends the paper to a selected editorial board member(s). C. the Editor In Chief himself evaluates the paper.
- Author will take the responsibility what so ever if any copyright infringement or any other violation of any law is done by publishing the research work by the author
- Before publishing, author must check whether this journal is accepted by his employer, or any authority he intends to submit his research work. we will not be responsible in this matter.
- If at any time, due to any legal reason, if the journal stops accepting manuscripts or could not publish already accepted manuscripts, we will have the right to cancel all or any one of the manuscripts without any compensation or returning back any kind of processing cost.
- The cost covered in the publication fees is only for online publication of a single manuscript.