Co-application of chelate GLDA and French marigold for remediation of Cd contaminated farmlands

Abstract The present study, via a 180-days field trial, investigated the potential of chelate tetrasodium glutamate diacetate (GLDA) for the remediation of cadmium (Cd)-contaminated farmlands by French marigold. To do so, five GLDA treatments (e.g., 0, 292.5, 585, 1170, and 2340 kg hm− 2) were practiced. For each treatment, the total GLDA was divided into two applications with 15 day intervals (0.25, 0.47, and 0.61 mg·kg− 1) under French marigold plantation. Compared with the control, our results showed that GLDA application significantly increased the biomass of aerial parts of French marigold by 21.9% (p < 0.05). Likewise, Cd content in aboveground and underground parts of French marigold increased by 94.7% and 60.5%, respectively, compared with the control (p < 0.05). GLDA application caused significant increases in Cd accumulations in cell soluble fraction and cell wall by 290% and 123%, respectively (p < 0.05); Soil pH and DTPA-Cd content increased with the increase of total application of GLDA. Co-application of GLDA (2340 kg hm− 2) and French marigold reduced the total soil Cd content by 12.87% compared with the soil background. Altogether, our findings conclude on the efficacy of GLDA application for the remediation of Cd contaminated farmlands under French marigold cultivation.