Biography
Prof. Mujahid Farid
Prof. Mujahid Farid
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Gujrat, Hafiz Hayat Campus, Gujrat, 50700, Pakistan
Title: Citric acid assisted phyto-management of nickel (Ni) contaminated wastewater by Mentha piperita (L.); physiological and biochemical responses
Abstract: 

Phytoremediation is considered one of the well-established and sustainable techniques for the removal of heavy metals and metalloids from contaminated sites. The metal extraction ability of the plants can be enhanced by using suitable organic materials in combination with metal-tolerant plants. This experiment carried out to investigate the phytoextraction potential of Mentha piperita L. for nickel (Ni) with and without citric acid (CA) amendment in hydroponic experiment. The experiment was performed in controlled glass containers with continuous aeration in complete randomized design (CRD). Juvenile M. piperita plants were treated with different concentrations of Ni (100, 250 and 500 μM) alone and/or combined with CA (5 mM). After harvesting the plants, the morpho-physiological and biochemical attributes as well as Ni concentrations in different tissues of M. piperita plants were measured. Results revealed that Ni stress significantly decreased the plant agronomic traits, photosynthesis in comparison to control. Nickel stress enhanced the antioxidant enzymes activities and caused the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in M. piperita. The CA treatment under Ni stress significantly improved the plant morpho-physiological and biochemical characteristics when compared with Ni treatments alone. The results demonstrated that CA enhanced the Ni concentrations in roots, stems and leaves up to 138.2%, 54.2%, and 38%, respectively, compared to Ni-only treated plants. The improvement in plant growth with CA under Ni stress indicated that CA is beneficial for Ni phyto-extraction by using tolerant plant species. 


Keywords: Accumulation, Antioxidant enzymes, Citric acid, Mentha piperita, Nickel. Phytoremediation
Biography: 
Dr. Mujahid Farid, received PhD-Degree in Environmental Sciences from Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan and Scottish Universities Environmental Research Center (SUERC), Glasgow, UK. He is working as Lecturer in Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Gujrat, Pakistan and voluntarily serving as Environmental Expert in Environmental Approval Committee constituted by Environment Protection Agency (EPA), Pakistan.

He has published over 70 papers in international journals; He has joined over 20 conferences and symposia in international and national level as participant, invited speaker with contributions. Dr. Mujahid Farid is in top 15 young scientist of Pakistan in field of environmental sciences and has won a series of awards and honors, including travel awards from Geochemical Society (GS), EAG (European Association of Geochemistry), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) and Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. Currently He is running HEC funded projects in the field of environmental ecotoxicology. Scientific fields of Dr. Mujahid Farid are as follow:  Environmental Ecotoxicology, Bioremediation, Phytoremediation, Air, water and soil pollution and its remediation. Efficacy of different organic and inorganic acids in bioremediation. Agriculture and crop sciences.