Essential heavy metals accumulation and distribution pattern in cucumber plants

 

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Article Title: Essential heavy metals accumulation and distribution pattern in cucumber plants
Authors: Murtić S., Zahirović C., Jurković J., Karić L., Koleška I.
Affiliation: Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Department of Vegetable Crops, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Agriculture University of Banja Luka, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Abstract: The main purpose of this study was to assess the uptake levels and distribution of essential heavy metals Cu, Zn, Mn, and Fe within the cucumber plants (Cucumis sativus L. ‘Opalit F1’). Essential heavy metal levels in soil and plant samples were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The concentration of total and available forms of all examined heavy metals in the studied soil was lower than the permissible value prescribed by legislation or scientific literature. The Mn and Zn accumulation were higher in the root and leaves than in the stem and fruits, while the Cu and Fe accumulation was significantly higher in the root than in the all above-ground parts of a cucumber. Since the heavy metals concentration in cucumber was below the recommended limits set by World Health Organization, the consumption of cucumber grown on the studied soil, from the point of view of contamination of the soil with tested heavy metals, should not be dangerous to human health.
Keywords: root, leaves, stem, fruit, distribution
*Correspondence: Senad Murtić, University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Department of Plant Physiology, Zmaja od Bosne 8, 71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tel. +387-33-225-727, Fax. +387-33-667-429, email: murticsenad@hotmail.com