Effect of Kerosene Application as Herbicide on Heavy Metal Uptake, Growth and Physiological Indices of Parsley, Coriander and Carrot

Kerosene has been utilized as an herbicide in some parts of Khuzestan province, Iran. In the present study, a pot factorial experiment on the basis of a completely randomized design with three replicates was conducted to investigate the effects of kerosene (at six levels including; 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 ml per kg of soil) on growth and physiological indices of three vegetables (parsley, coriander and carrot) grown in a kerosene-contaminated soil. Furthermore, the accumulation of heavy metals in the vegetables was investigated. Results showed that the biomass and chlorophyll content of the vegetables decreased as kerosene concentration increased. The amounts of prolin and anthocyanin also decreased at high kerosene concentration (with the exception of carrot in which they increased). The amounts of Cd, pb, Zn, and Cu in the root and shoot of vegetables increased significantly by increasing the amount of kerosene in soil. As by increasing 10 ml of kerosene to each kg of soil, the average concentration of Cd, Cu and pb increased in the root (10, 68, 6.5 ppm) and shoot (4, 88, 2.5 ppm) of parsley; root (9, 65, 5.7 ppm) and shoot (3.3, 83, 2 ppm) of coriander, and root (9, 45, 5 ppm) and shoot (4.2, 80, 1.58 ppm) of carrot. Finally, this research indicated that the average concentration of heavy metals in the three vegetables was higher than the world standard level. Hence, high consumption of these vegetables could be dangerous for consumers.