Abstract:Phytoremediation has attracted much more attention in environmental cleanup. The relatively low biomass and slow growth of metal hyperaccumulators restrict the efficiency of phytoextraction of heavy metals using these plants. The objective of this study was to compare the efficiency of phytoextraction of cadmium (Cd) with the hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens and three high biomass plant species (India mustard, tobacco and sunflower). A pot experiment was conducted using a soil contaminated with Cd (2.87 mg·kg-1) from past application of manure and fertilizer with Cd for long time. The results showed that the Thlaspi caerulescens had a higher ability of Cd accumulation than other three plants species. The Cd concentration in the shoots of Thlaspi caerulescens reached 43.7 mg·kg-1, whereas only 1.7 mg·kg-1 Cd was found in the shoots of sunflower. Cd concentration in the shoots of Thlaspi caerulescens was 10, 27 and 56 times of that of tobacco, Indian mustard, and sunflower, respectively. However, tobacco had the highest biomass, which was 35, 3 and 2 times of Thlaspi caerulescens, Indian mustard and sunflower, respectively. Total uptake of Cd from the soil was 117, 35, 30 and 10 μg·pot-1 for tobacco, Thlaspi caerulescens, India mustard and sunflower, respectively. Phytoextracion efficiency was 1%, 0.6%, 0.5% and 0.08% for tobacco, Thlaspi caerulescens, India mustard and sunflower, respectively. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in either total or extractable Cd concentration in the soil after the four plant species were harvested.