Assessment of heavy metal contamination in the evergreen tree Mangifera indica L. and soils near National Highway-47 in Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala

The present study was carried out to assess the heavy metal contamination in the evergreen tree Mangifera Indica L. and soils near the National Highway-47 passing through Thiruvananthapuram District in Kerala State. The study showed that the concentration of heavy metals like cadmium, lead and zinc in the leaves and crops of Mangifera Indica in the sampling stations of road sides were high compared to that of the control station in the study area. The presence of heavy metals were also detected in the soils of all selected study stations near National Highway-47, and the concentration of lead and cadmium were found high in the soils collected from the study stations, Thampanoor and Pallichal of Thiruvananthapuram district with high vehicular intensity. Therefore this study concludes that the Mangifera Indica L. and its crop ‘mango’ in the main road side areas of the capital city of Kerala were contaminated with heavy metals which may cause health problems in humans on daily consumption of the crop.