Physiological responses of vetiver plant (Chrysopogon zizanioides) to oil drilling mud

Environmental pollutions is one of the most important concerns in the world. One of the most important pollutants are the compounds of crude oil and its products. The process of using plants to remove, degrade, or stabilize pollutants in contaminated lands or water environments is called phytoremediation. Vetiver herb is a multi-purpose plant whose various functions have been proven in the world. This plant has shown high tolerance to various environmental stresses such as drought, salinity, cold, heat, acidic conditions, heavy metals and petroleum compounds. In this research, Vetiver plant seedlings were planted in 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% concentrations of oil drilling mud (Madpit) and its morphophysiological characteristics were investigated. The results showed that with increasing concentration of oil pollution, the amount of chlorophyll, carotenoid and growth characteristics of the aerial part and root decreased, while the content of proline and phenolic compounds increased. In this study, the amount of resistance of vetiver against the stress of petroleum compounds was significant, which seems to be due to the cross tolerance of stress. Vetiver's high capacity in stress tolerance and soil purification showed that this plant is a suitable option for multi-faceted phytoremediation projects.