The first research results show that cucurbits have outstanding cleansing properties that simultaneously do not harm the environment, in which they grow.
- Ability of cucurbits to remove persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from the soil has been confirmed in my previous research: I have shown that cultivating zucchini in soil enriched with sewage sludge for 5 weeks reduces concentration of POPs in the soil by 37%. This translates into a 68% reduction in overall toxicity. The situation is very similar in the case of using cucumber plantings - says dr hab. Magdalena Urbaniak from the Department of UNESCO Chair on Ecohydrology and Applied Ecology.
However, the problem of contamination of the plants themselves remains - what should be done to make the plants clean the soil, on the one hand, and to make them fit for consumption on the other? The researchers rely here on the regulation of molecular processes, which take place in cucurbits during accumulation of harmful substances.
- We know it is possible to control the way how plants absorb and accumulate POPs. Fungicides work perfectly in the control process. We strive to be able, depending on the needs, to control this process, and thus, to have a choice between the remediation function of a plant (i.e., using it to remove contamination) or the consumption function, i.e., production of safe vegetables, free of hazardous substances - explains dr hab. M. Urbaniak.
Additionally, plants from the cucurbit family support the process of soil remediation (i.e., removal of contaminants) by secreting into the soil, mainly into the root zone (rhizosphere), a number of plant substances, the so-called exudates. Plant substances support development of beneficial microorganisms living in the plant's root zone and in its tissues, thus, increasing the degree of bacterial degradation (biodegradation) of contaminants. Mgr inż. Mierzejewska is developing this issue as part of her doctoral dissertation.
Results of the conducted research can be used by scientists working on the issues of environmental pollution as well as by practitioners: farmers, owners of large-scale agro farms or food producers.
The so far obtained results will be developed further and supplemented as part of international traineeships: dr hab. M. Urbaniak will do it in Japan, at the Kobe University, which is a leading institution in the field of plant genetics. In turn, mgr Elżbieta Mierzejewska will work on her part of the research at the Hasselt University (Belgium). Under ETUIDA 7 National Science Centre (NCN) she will spend 6 months taking part in a scientific traineeship in the Centre for Environmental Sciences, which is a leading unit in the field of research on biological methods for environmental remediation.
Source: dr hab. M. Urbaniak (Prof. of UŁ), mgr inż. Elżbieta Mierzejewska - Department of UNESCO Chair on Ecohydrology and Applied Ecology, UL
Edit: Promotion Centre, UL