Phytoremediation of soil contaminated by organic compounds, including herbicides, is being widely investigated. The frequent use of tebuthiuron can cause serious environmental impacts such as long-term residual effect on soil and likely underground water contamination. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the phytoremediation potential of seven plant species in soils treated with this herbicide. The experiment evaluated the following species: Cajanus cajan, Canavalia ensiformes, Dolichos lablab, Pannisetum glaucum, Estizolobium deeringianum, Estizolobium aterrimum and Lupinus albus, sown and cultivated for 60 days in vases treated with tebuthiuron at 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 kg ha-1. The control treatments were constituted by vases without plants, submitted to the same herbicide doses. Sixty days after sowing, the aerial part of all the plants was harvested and Avena strigosa was sown in the same vases for bioassay. Sixty days after it was sown, A. strigosa was harvested and the characteristics plant height, phytotoxicity symptoms and dry biomass of the aerial part of the plant were evaluated. Up to a tebuthiuron dose of 0.5 kg ha-1, L. albus presented the best phytoremediation results. When tebuthiuron was applied at 1.0 kg ha-1, C. ensiformes presented the best phytoremediation results. Such results were based on plant height, dry biomass of the aerial part and lower A. strigosa phytotoxicity when cultivated after these remediating plants. None of the species evaluated grew in soil receiving the highest dose of tebuthiuron (1.5 kg ha-1).
phytoremediation; soil depollution; phytodegradation; bioassay; Avena strigosa
