IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2018) 9-1

Research article
erd

Accumulation of Copper in Kale (Brassica alboglabra) andSoil Fertilized with Swine Manure, Compost andVermicompost under Different Thai Soil Series
ARPHORN THONGBURAN
Faculty of Agriculture, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
Email: p_arphorn@yahoo.com

CHULEEMAS BOONTHAI IWAI*
Faculty of Agriculture, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
Email: chuleemas1@gmail.com
Received 8 February 2018

Accepted 20 May 2018(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract The aim of the study was to evaluate the variation in the copper (Cu)accumulation in kale and two different Thai soil series (Korat and Nampong soil series)
treated with swine manure, compost and vermicompost. Completely randomized design(CRD) experiment was conducted on the soil samples collected from Korat and Nampong
soil series. Same amount of treatments namely swine manure, compost and vermicompostof 18.75 t/ha were applied in each experimental unit and harvested after 45 days. Results
showed that the accumulation of Cu in roots and shoots were found higher in Nampong soilseries than Korat soil series. The Cu accumulation in roots and shoots was highest whentreated with swine manure. The Cu content in roots and shoots were 6.62 and 3.69 mgkg-1
respectively. However, there was no significant difference in the Cu content when treatedwith compost and vermicompost. The Cu accumulation in Korat soil series was foundhigher than Nampong soil series at 6.29 and 6.19 mgkg-1 respectively when treated withswine manure. However, accumulation of Cu in Kale and soil depend on difference in soil
texture and speciation of Cu in swine manure, compost and vermicompost. This is because
Korat soil contains clay mineral which absorbs Cu whereas Nampong soil series is more ofsandy which absorbs less Cu.
Keywords swine manure, compost, vermicomposting, Nampong soil series,
Korat soil series

INTRODUCTION
Fertilization of crops with swine manure is a common practice throughout the world. Due to therelatively high Cu contents in swine manure, continuous application of swine manure could havenegative effects on soil and plant. Cu is nutrient for plant growth and development, Cu may
become phytotoxic and cause metabolic disorders at high soil concentrations, and lead to apotential threat to human health through the food chain (Xu et al., 2013). The increase of Cu in
human body causes some major diseases such as brain, skin, pancreas, and heart diseases (Nurdanand Okan, 2013). The bioavailability and toxicity of metals in soil can vary over several orders ofmagnitude depending on soil modifying factors. The effect of soil types on the bioavailability andtoxicity of metals to soil organism has been studies (Olugbenga et al., 2010). Clay minerals are
generally regarded as important natural ion exchange materials because they are generally coatedwith metal oxide and organic matter. Clay has small particle size and a large surface area per unit
weight, these properties is believed to be a good adsorbent for heavy metal (Sajidu et al., 2006).
Many researchers studied heavy metal uptake and transports within the plants and accumulation of
Cu in soil. But the most of widely studies with different kind of plant, raw material and soils.

Ⓒ ISERD198

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2018) 9-1

OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to evaluate the accumulation of copper in kale planted in two different
soil series (Korat and Nampong soil series) that treated with swine manure, compost andvermicompost.
METHODOLOGY
Soil Sample Collection and Preparation
The soil used in this study came from Northeast of Thailand were collect from Korat and Nampong
soil series. Soil was sample from 0-15 cm. depth, air-dried at ambient temperature and finally,sieved to < 2 mm. used for pot experiment and for measurement of the soil’s physical-chemicalproperties.
Soil pH and electrical conductivity (EC) were measured in a 1:5 soil/water mixture, organic
matter was determined by the Walkley-Black (Walkley and Black, 1965), particle-size distribution(clay, silt and sand content) was determined by Hydrometer method, cation exchange capacity(CEC) was measured by the ammonium acetate saturation method (Bremner, 1965) and determinedof Cu in the soil extraction with DTPA measured by Atomic absorption spectrophotometer.
Composting and Vermicomposting Preparation
Compost and vermicompost were pepared with swine manure, cassava peel, rice husk ash and soil
in propotion ration 2:6:1:1 and earthworm species (Eudrillus eugeniae) was introduced to thesubstrate for vermicomposting with the moisture content 80 to 90%. After 60 days separate
earthworm and air-dried at ambient temperature for compost and vermicompost, finally sieved to <2 mm. used for pot experiment and for measurement chemical properties.
Analysis chemical property of compost and vermicompost; pH and electrical conductivity (EC)were measured in a 1:10 mixture with water, organic matter was determined by the Walkley-Black(Walkley and Black, 1965), Total nitrogen was determined by the Kejldahl method, Total phosphorus,Potassium and Cu digested with mixture of HNO3: HClO4 (1:1) followed by standard method(AOAC, 2000).
The sequential extraction of speciation of Cu in swine manure, compost and vermicompost
following five fraction were exchangeable, bound of carbonate, bound of iron and manganeseoxide, bound of organic matter and residual (Tessier, 1979).
Pot Experiment
Plastic pots were filled with 1 kg of air-dried soil sieved to <2 mm. (Ruiz et al., 2009) Fourdifferent experiment series were; control soil without swine manure, compost and vermicompost,
soil with swine manure, soil with compost and soil with vermicompost under Korat and Nampong
soil series. Each series consisted of three replicate in CRD experiment.
Kale (Brassica alboglabra) seed were sown 10 seeds per pot. After 10 days subsequently
reduced to 3 seeds per pot. Same amount of treatments namely swine manure, compost andvermicompost of 18.75 t/ha were applied in each experimental unit and harvested after 45 days.
Plant shoots and root were thoroughly washed with de-ionize water, weighed, stored at 75 ºC,
finely ground to fine powder and sealed in plastic bags for subsequent Cu analysis. The dry plants
were digested using mixture of HNO3: HClO4 (1:1) followed by standard method (AOAC, 2000)
The total metal accumulation rate (TMAR) in K ale was calculate using the following equation.
TMAR = [(Mroot x DWroot) + (Mshoot x DWshoot)] / (DWroot + DWshoot)Ⓒ ISERD

199

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2018) 9-1

Where Mshoot and Mroot represent the total Cu concentration in Kale shoot and root (mgkg-1),
respectively, while DWroot and DWshoot represent the weight of Kale roots and shoots (g.) respectively.
(Ruiz et al., 2009).
Statistical Analysis
The Statistic 10 software (version 10, USA) was used to analyze the data including the analysis ofvariance (One Way ANOVA). Treatment means were compared using least significance difference (LSD)
at P< 0.05.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Material Characterization
The main physical-chemical property of the soil (Korat and Nampong soil series) were analyzedand classified as loam and loamy sand include clay content at 16.61 and 6.46% respectively (Table1).
Table 1 Physical-chemical property of the soil used for experiment
Soil properties
1. pH (1:5)
2. EC (1:5; ds/m)
3. CEC (cmol/kg)
4. Organic Matter (%)
5. Total Nitrogen (%)
6. Available Phosphate (%)
7. Exchangeable Potash (%)
8. Copper (Cu; mg/kg)
9. Texture
Sand (%)
Silt (%)
Clay (%)

Korat soil series

Nampong soil series

6.42
0.04
7.93
1.59
0.08
4933
0.83
Loam
50.94
32.45
16.61

6.79
0.03
3.38
0.97
0.03
53
29
0.26
Loamy sand
78.87
14.67
6.46

Table 2 Chemical-property of the swine manure, compost and vermicomost
used for experiment
Property
1. pH (1:10)
2. EC (1:10; ds/m)
3. Total Nitrogen (%)
4. Total Phosphate (%)
5. Total Potash (%)
6. Organic Matter (%)
7. Copper (Cu; mg/kg)

Swine manure
7.4
2.2
2.3
9.4
1.3
52.7
731.7

Compost
7.94
1.013
0.63
1.10
0.78
19.8
175.5

Vermicompost
7.46
1.223
0.54
1.32
1.00
15.9
209.1

The swine manure, compost and vermicomost used for experiment were analyzed chemical
properties (Table 2). Contamination of Cu in swine manure has been found in high concentration
because Cu is added to feed additive for pig growth promoting.
Speciation of Cu in swine manure, compost and vermicompost as show in Fig. 1, the swine
manure has high concentration of Cu in exchangeable fraction. But compost and vermicompostingprocess cloud reduced the exchangeable form and changed to bound of organic matter.

Ⓒ ISERD200

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2018) 9-1%chang total Cu

60swine manure

50

vermicompost

4030
20
100
exchangeable carbonate bound Fe/Mn boundOrganicmatterboundResidual

speciation of Cu

Fig. 1 Speciation of Cu in swine manure, compost and vermicompost
Effect of Swine Manure, Compost and Vermicompost on Accumulation of Cu in Kale and Soils
The total metal accumulation rate (TMAR), shoot and root Cu concentration for Kale are presented
in Table 3. The result show that the treatment with swine manure significantly increased the TMARof Cu. This is a direct consequence of the observed increase in the Cu root concentration (Ruiz etal.,2009). The accumulation of Cu in roots and shoots were found higher in Korat soil series thanNampong soil series. The Cu accumulation in roots and shoots was highest when treated withswine manure. The Cu content in roots and shoots were 6.62 and 3.69 mg/kg respectively.
However there was no significant difference in the Cu content when treated with compost andvermicompost. The accumulation of metal concentration in root and shoot was only observed forthe most mobile metal. The nutrients with lower mobility are mainly accumulated in the roots,
while those with relatively higher mobility are accumulated in the shoots to greater extent(Materechera, 2002). From the roots, transition metals are mainly transported to the shoot via thexylem. Chelation of metals with certain intracellular chelators, e.g. histidine, nicotianamide andcitrate, appears as a key process that protes root-to-shoot mobility of a metal via xylem transport(Clemens et al., 2002).
Table 3 Effect of swine manure, compost and vermicompost on shoots, root andtotal accumulation of Cu (mgkg-1) in Kale
Treatment
Soil (control)
Soil + swine manure
Soil + compost
Soil + vermicompost
F valure

shoot
n.d.
2.61
n.d.
n.d.
-

Korat soil series
root
TMAR
0.03b0.00b
4.49a
2.67a
0.40b0.01b0.47b0.02b
**
**

shoot
n.d.
3.69
n.d.
n.d.
-

Nampong soil series
root
TMAR
0.03b
0.00b
6.62a
3.80a
1.37b
0.03b1.50b0.03b****

Values in same letters in the columns are not significantly different (LSD test, p< 0.01), n.d.: Not detect

Table 4 Effect of swine manure, compost and vermicompost accumulation ofCu (mgkg-1) in soil
Treatment
Soil (control)
Soil + swine manure
Soil + compost
Soil + vermicompost
F valure

Korat soil series
0.59b
6.29a
1.90b
1.91b
**

Nampong soil series
0.11c
6.19a
1.64b
1.70b
**

Values in same letters in the columns are not significantly different (LSD test, p< 0.01)

Table 4 showed the Cu accumulation in Korat soil series was found higher than Nampong soil
series at 6.29 and 6.19 mg/kg respectively when treated with swine manure. But there was no
significant difference in the Cu content when treated with compost and vermicompost. This isⒸ ISERD201

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2018) 9-1

because Korat soil contains clay mineral which absorbs Cu whereas Nampong soil series is more ofsandy which absorbs less Cu. Clay is a potentially good adsorptive material because of its large
surface area, high cation exchange capacity, chemical and mechanical stability, and layered structure(Nurdan and Okan, 2013).
CONCLUSION
Swine manure has a significant influence on the amount of Cu accumulation in root and shootuptake by kale. The most of Cu in swine manure included exchangeable form and organic mattercompound. Exchangeable form is availability of Cu and organic matter compound e.g. histidine,
nicotianamide and citrate, appears as a key process that promotes root-to-shoot mobility of a metal
via xylem transport. Therefore, accumulation of Cu high concentration in root and shoot when treat
with swine manure However, accumulation of Cu in Kale and soil depend on kind difference ofsoil and texture. This is clay mineral cloud absorption heavy metal. Therefore Korat soil seriescontains clay mineral which absorbs Cu whereas Nampong soil series is more of sandy whichabsorbs less Cu.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author thanks the Integrated Water Resource Management Research and Development Centre
in Northeast Thailand, The Research Developing and Learning Centre on Earthworm forAgriculture and Environment, Scholarship of graduated school of Khon Kaen University andNational Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) for financial support and Khon Kaen University
Research Fund (Synchrotron KKU fund).
REFERENCES
Bremner, J.M. 1965. Cation exchang capacity. In Black, C.A. et al. (ed.) Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 2,Agronomy, 9, 1149-1278. Am. Soc. Agron., Inc., Madison, Wis.
Clemens, S., Palmgren, M.G. and Kramer, U. 2002. A long way ahead, Understanding and engineering plant
metal accumulation. Trend Plant Science, 7, 309-315.
Horwitz, W. (Ed.). 2000. Official method of analysis of AOAC internation. 17th AOAC International Inc.,
Gaithersberg, MD.
Materechera, S.A. 2002. Nutrient availability and maize growth in soil amended with earthworm casts from aSouth Africac indigenous. Bioresource Technology, 84, 197-201.
Nurdan, G.T. and Okan, O. 2013. Study of montmorillonite clay for the removal of copper (II) by adsoption,
Full factorial design approach and cascade forward neural network. The Scientific Journal, 1-11.
Olugbenga, J.O., Adriaan, R.J. and Andrei, R.B. 2010. Influence of clay content on bioavailability of copperin the earthworm Eisenia fetida. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 73, 407-414.
Ruiz, E., Rodriguez, L. and Alonso-Azcarate, J. 2009. Effects of earthworm on metal uptake of heavy metals
from polluted mine soils by different crop plants. Chemosphere, 75, 1035-1041.
Sajidu, S.M.I., Persson, I., Masamba, W.R.L., Henry, E.M.T. and Kayambazinthu, D. 2006. Removal of Cd2+,Cr3-, Cu2+, Hg2+, Pb2+ and Zn2+ cations and as O43- anions from aqueous solutions by mixed clay from
Tundulu Malawi and characterisation of the clay. Water Sa., 4, 519-526.
Tessier, A., Cambell, P.G.C. and Bission, M. 1997. Sequential extraction procedure for the speciation ofparticulate trace metals. Analytical Chemistry, 51, 844-851.
Walkley, A. and Black, I.A. 1934. An examination of the digestion method for determining soil organicmatter and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Science, 37, 29-33.
Xu, Y., Yu, W., Ma, Q. and Zhou, H. 2013. Accumulation of copper and zine in soil and plant within tenyear application of different pig manure rates. Plant Soil Environment, 59, 492-499.

Ⓒ ISERD202