The effects of cadmium, cobalt and copper on the germination of Helianthus annuus L. seeds
Keywords:
Sunflower, Cadmium, Cobalt, Heavy Metal Salts, GerminationAbstract
Heavy metals adversely affect the sunflower crop due to rising pollution, wherein most of the pollution is caused by industrialization and the use of herbicides, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers, which are harmful to the environment and to the crop plants. In this respect, we have focused our attention in this work on the study of Cd²⁺, Co²⁺, and Cu²⁺ ions' effects on the germination of sunflower seeds with particular emphasis on the threats to plant development. The effect of heavy metals was determined on sterilized sunflower seeds at three different concentrations: 1 mM, 2 mM, and 4 mM of cadmium chloride (CdCl₂), cobalt chloride (CoCl₂), and copper sulfate (CuSO₄). All the experiments were conducted in the laboratory, having five repetitions with 20 sunflower seeds in each repetition. In this regard, results showed that increased heavy metal concentration significantly inhibited sunflower seed germination capacity (p < 0.05). Cadmium chloride, on one hand, had the highest inhibiting effect of the heavy metals used during this experiment (p < 0.05), having the lowest germination rates of 33% at the 4 millimolar concentration, whereas concomitant applications of both cobalt chloride and copper sulfate had inhibitive effects, depressing germination rates to as low as 51% and 63%, respectively, at the 4 millimolar concentration.
These results suggest that preventing soil contamination from heavy metals is essential for crop safety. This study recommends further studies on the development of sustainable agricultural technologies and bioremediation approaches to mitigate heavy metals in soil.
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