Assessment of multi-metal contaminant in agricultural soil amended with organic wastes, speciation and translocation – An approach towards sustainable crop production

Environmental contamination, anti-microbial properties, the ability of plant pathogen resistance, loss of biodiversity, and decreased hazard to human health have all increased the importance of organic compost in intensive farming systems. The demand for sustainable agricultural practices has fueled the search for eco-friendly alternatives to plant fungicides, soil fumigants, and fertilizers. Through the virtuous reuse of aquatic and uncooked vegetable waste, this study intends to provide a deeper understanding of new insights for rotary drum composting and compost parameters for overall soil and crop health. Water hyacinth compost (WHC), water thyme compost, and vegetable waste rotary drum compost (VWC) were used to minimize the environmental hazard of metal(loids) in agricultural soil. Multi-metal bioavailability and leachability were significantly reduced upon compost amendment. Morphological parameters of Solanum lycopersicum plant, fruit, yield, and quality of the crop were analyzed along with plant metal uptake/translocation and the optimum compost addition was determined. VWC followed by WHC and Hydrilla verticillata compost (HVC) showed improved results in soil metal immobilization and plant metal uptake.