Field trials of Brassica carinata and Brassica juncea in polluted soils ofthe Guadiamar river area.

Phytoextraction is a subjet of phytoremediation in which metal-accumulating plants are used to transport and concentrate metals from soils into the ha rvestable parts(1). In this study we test the capacity of some genotypes of Brassica juncea (L. Czern. & Coss.) and Brassica carinata (A. Braun) for u ptaking heavy metals from polluted soils after the toxic spill of the Aznal collar mine (southern Spain). We present the levels of Pb, Zn, Cu and Cd fo und in the soil and the concentrations of Pb, Zn and Cu in the harvested pl ants. High concentrations of Pb, Zn and Cu were present in the soil. B. jun cea had greater capacity for uptaking than B. carinata for all the metals a nalysed except for Cu.