Efficiency of Lead-Cadmium Metal Uptake in Cannabis Sativa L.

Zachary E. Moats* and Louis M McDonald
Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design, Division of Plant and Soil Sciences, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26505

Presentation No.: 31

Assigned Category (Presentation Format): Agricultural & Environmental Sciences (Poster Presentations)

Student’s Major: Environmental Microbiology

Metal accumulation in soil is a serious problem for agriculture and environmental health. Unlike organic pollutants that can be broken down into carbon dioxide and water, metals persist. One result of this is that plants accumulate these metals. This metal accumulation poses obvious health risks. Following the passage of the Farm Bill in 2018, interest in Cannabis Sativa L. (Hemp) hemp skyrocketed for the plant's various agricultural, recreational and medicinal uses. However, the problem of accumulation of metals remains as Cannabis plants are known accumulators. Implications are serious as Cannabis crops grown in West Virginia have been rejected in the past for excessive lead (Pb) content. We initiated an experiment using Auto-flower hemp. A range of Pb and Cd concentrations (1/10 mg/L, 1/100 mg/L, 1/1000 mg/L, and 1/10,000 mg/L) were prepared in triplicate. With the goal of analyzing the uptake in premature hemp plants. Following 7 days of growth, varying levels of heavy metals will be determined by portable X-ray Fluorescence.

Funding:

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU's SURE program (Rita Rio & Michelle Richards-Babb)