Cleansing Power Of Plants!

AG readers asked to join ‘metal mining’ seed trials

- Ruth Hayes

WE already know that plants can help extract impurities from the air, but now green-fingered scientists are asking AG readers to help them trial a clever new scheme which uses specially chosen varieties to ‘mine’ impurities and metals from contaminated soil.

If it goes ahead, Lorna’s Seeds will use plants, instead of invasive chemicals, to extract toxins from the soil around former warehouses and factories that are earmarked for housing developments.

Once the soil is cleaned, anyone living in the new homes will be able to grow crops with peace of mind.

The project has been developed by Dr Lorna Anguilano, a senior research fellow at Brunel University London’s Experimental Technique Centre.

“The idea originally comes from mining – the harvesting of nickel from plants was patented years ago – but it’s since been studied for many different plants and lots of different metals. It’s relatively old technology,” Dr Anguilano explained to AG.

Contaminants in our environment

“Lorna’s Seeds is really a variation on the theme, but we want to help soil regeneration in an urban environment. So, we want to see what sort of contamination we have in our living environments – in our gardens and allotments – and then develop an assortment of seeds that can help remove the metals present in the soil.”