The Utilization of Water Spinach (Ipomoea reptans Poir) as a Phytoremediation Agent for Heavy Metals in Growing Media

The results showed that the combination of ex-mining soil with Belega compost (J2K4) produced the highest plant height (38.00 cm) and the greatest number of leaves (42). The best reduction of heavy metals was observed in the treatment of social forest soil with Jagapati compost (J1K2), namely As 10.29 ppm, Hg 0.24 ppm, and Mn 83.61 ppm. These findings indicate that water spinach is effective as a phytoremediation plant. This study aimed to investigate the effects of land-use type and compost sources from TPS 3R on the growth and capacity of water spinach (Ipomoea reptans Poir.) to reduce heavy metal content in the growing media. The experiment was arranged in a factorial Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with two factors, namely land type (social forest soil and ex-mining soil from C excavation) and compost source from TPS 3R (Kesiman, Jagapati, Belega, Darmasaba). The observed parameters included plant height, number of leaves, fresh and dry weight, as well as the reduction of heavy metals (As, Hg, Mn).