THE USE OF Senecio cineraria PLANTS SPRAYED WITH CITRIC ACID FOR LEAD POLLUTION PHYTOREMEDIATION

The present study was carried out at Antoniadis Research Branch, Horticulture Research Institute A.R.C. Alexandria, Egypt during 2017 and 2018 seasons. This study aim to investigate the effect of for levels of lead 0,100, 200 and 300 ppm) in water irrigation and three different concentrations of citric acid (0,250 and 500 ppm) as foliar application on the vegetative growth and chemical composition of Senecio cineraria. Moreover, this investigation aim to study the ability of using Senecio cineraria as lead phytoremediation. The results exhibited significant reduction in all vegetative parameters as affected by lead concentration treatments. On the other hand, significant increment in vegetative growth parameters was detected by using 500 ppm citric acid. Concerning chlorophyll and carbohydrates contents, the highest significant values were obtained under tap water irrigation (0 and 0 levels of lead and citric acid). Moreover,the results showed no significant effect of the combinations (interaction) between lead and citric acid concentrations on vegetative growth parameters. Meanwhile, the results showed, the highest amount of lead sentient in leaves and roots was detected under the treatments combination (300 ppm load 0 citric acid). Finally, the results also showed, it is possible to use Senecio cineraria hands as lead phytoremediation by using citric acid (300 ppm) as foliar application.