Use of mitigators in soil contaminated by heavy metals and accumulation of metals in sugarcane

• Grant number: 07/04169-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2007
• End date: August 31, 2009
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Soil Science
• Principal Investigator: Raffaella Rossetto
• Grantee: Guilherme Faganello Dressano
• Host Institution: Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios (APTA). Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Close to Piracicaba city there is an ancient sugarcane cultivated area that incidently was contaminated with heavy metals material, as a result of the application of a mixture of sand and scrap iron (containing heavy metals). Despite of the contamination,the São Paulo State environmental agency, named Cetesb, prohibited any commercial cultivation in the area, but it was allowed to a group of soil researches to use the area as a research site. In this FAPESP n. 200660987-0 scientific project, the objective is to evaluate the heavy metals uptake by sugarcane cultivated in the contaminated area, and also, to evaluate the mitigating materials addition effects. The experiment will test filter cake, turf, vermiculite, silicate and phosphate as a mitigating materials. Another possibility in polluted areas is the use of phytoaccumating plants. Sugarcane has a great potential as a phytoaccumulating plant due to its high biomass production. Sugarcane is also the most important culture in the region. There is a lack of scientific informations about heavy metals symptoms in sugarcane plant, and also, which of the sugarcane plant s part, is the most affected. Sugarcane cultivated area is around 5 millions hectares in Brazil. Some large areas are close to industrial areas and big cities. Also, is important to know, that sugarcane is industrially processed and the final products: sugar and alcohol, are free of contaminants. So we believe that sugarcane can be a good option to environmental studies in general, and particularly in heavy metal contaminated soils.