Identification of high cadmium-accumulating oilseed sunflower (Helianthusannuus) cultivars for phytoremediation of an Oxisol and an Inceptisol

Forty oilseed sunflower cultivars were screened in two soil types for phytoremediation of Cd coupled withmaximum biomass yield and oil production. Several cultivars exhibited a significant difference in biomass andyield with enhanced uptake in shoots and low accumulation in roots from two Cd-contaminated soil types, anOxisol and an Iceptisol. The Transfer Factor of Cd was>1 in several cultivars in both soil types, where as asignificant difference in phytoextraction of Cd was observed in the Oxisol (acidic soil), greater than in theInceptisol (alkaline soil). The results revealed that of the 40 cultivars, S9178, Huanong 667in the Oxisol and cvs.DW 667, HN 667, Huanong 667 and 668F1 in the Inceptisol showed a high biomass, better yield and enhancedaccumulation of Cd in the shoots but a lesser accumulation in oil. The screened cultivar S 9178 produced thegreatest amount of oil (55.6%) with 77% oleic acid, which makes it suitable for human consumption. CultivarHuanong 667 was found to be the highest accumulating cultivar in both soil types. It is therefore suggested thatsome sunflower cultivars do exhibit phytoremediation potential together with agro-production potential.