Volume : 12, Issue : 4, APR 2026

ROLE OF ORGANIC AND INORGANIC AMENDMENTS IN REMEDIATION OF CONTAMINATED AGRICULTURAL SOIL: A LABORATORY SCALE STUDY

MAMTA KUMARI*, NEHA SHARMA, BHANWARI DEVI, AISHWARYA PUROHIT, PROFESSOR VIMLA SHEORAN

Abstract

Heavy metal contamination of agricultural soils poses severe threats to food safety and ecosystem integrity. A bioreactor pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of organic amendments (S2), inorganic amendments (S3), and their combined application (S4) with an unamended control (S1) in remediating heavy metal-contaminated agricultural soil. Key soil parameters, including pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), and available nitrogen (N) were assessed at different retention periods, alongside copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and lead (Pb) concentrations in soil and plant. All amendment treatments progressively raised pH toward neutrality; the inorganic treatment (S3) attained the highest value (7.38 ± 0.035 at harvest) representing ~8.37%, while the combined treatment (S4) achieved the greatest EC reduction (0.17 ± 0.026 dS m?¹) representing ~54%. Organic amendments (S2) maximally enriched soil OC (0.37 ± 0.040%), representing ~12%, and all amended soils maintained significantly higher available N than the declining control. At harvest, S4 demonstrated the greatest reductions in Phyto availability of Cu (2.45 ± 0.303 mg kg?¹), Zn (3.22 ± 0.442 mg kg?¹), and Pb (0.96 ± 0.165 mg kg?¹), representing ~75%, ~90%, and ~80% decreases relative to S1, respectively. Overall, the results indicate that integrating organic and inorganic amendments can provide a synergistic effect, enhancing soil quality while effectively immobilising heavy metals for remediating metal-contaminated agricultural soils.

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IESRJ

International Educational Scientific Research Journal

E-ISSN: 2455-295X

International Indexed Journal | Multi-Disciplinary Refereed Research Journal

ISSN: 2455-295X

Peer-Reviewed Journal - Equivalent to UGC Approved Journal

Peer-Reviewed Journal

Article No : 22

Number of Downloads : 19

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