Lead-contaminated soils are pervasive in many urban settings. We tested lead concentrations in home-garden soils of Saratoga Springs residents. In the lab, we analyzed the effect of various hormone treatments on the ability of sunflowers to phytoextract lead. We found significant lead contamination in over half of the gardens sampled. Sunflowers treated with strigolactone had significantly elevated concentrations of lead in their tissues compared to the other hormone treatments and control group.
