Multivariate analyses of heavy metal contamination in vegetables and fruits in the vicinity of some industrial areas of the Punjab

The metal content of industrial areas of Kasur, the Lahore Kasur Road and the Lahore Shiekhupura Road were surveyed and sampled for vegetables, fruits and grain crops. The quality of soil was also analyzed and compared with that of the control soil in and around the Botanical Garden, University of the Punjab, Lahore. The metal content of soil in Kasur in the vicinity of KTWMA was the highest. However, the industrial zones along the Lahore Kasur and Lahore Sheikhupura Roads were also moderately polluted. The metal content of edible parts of vegetables, fruits and grain crops were above the permissible limit in case of Cr and Cd. Lead was absent at all sampling sites while Ni was also occasionally absent. Many of the pot herbs like cabbage, coriander, mustard and white goosefoot were observed to be most severely contaminated with heavy metals. Other vegetables like brinjal, bitter gourd and ladyfinger also indicated high contamination levels revealed by PCA charts. Among the fruits, fig, blackberry and guava were the most highly contaminated at all places. In grain crops oats indicated higher metal levels.