TITLE:
Growth of Four Varieties of Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in Soils Contaminated with Heavy Metals and Their Effects on Some Physiological Traits
AUTHORS:
Águeda González, M. Carmen Lobo
KEYWORDS:
Growth; Heavy Metal; Barley; Chlorophyll Content
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.4 No.9,
August
29,
2013
ABSTRACT: To evaluate the effect of zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and chromium (Cr) on growth and
selected physiological traits in barley, a greenhouse trial was performed using
four barley varieties that were exposed to different concentration of these
metals. The parameters quantified were growth, chlorophyll content, and
chlorophyll fluorescence during three phenological stages: flag leaf, anthesis,
and grain filling. The metal concentrations in both the plant and soil were
also quantified. We determined that the varieties studied were more tolerant to
Zn and Cd than to Cr. Treatment with Zn did not negatively affect growth, and
only high concentrations of Cd decreased growth by approximately 4% to 8%.
Plants treated with the highest Cr concentration stopped growing at the flag
leaf stage. The amount of metal that accumulated in the plant increased with
increasing metal concentration, and the highest amount of accumulated metal was
recorded in the root and shoot. Both the plant height and dry weight were
higher in the CB502 variety plants, followed by the Reinette, Pedrezuela, and
Plaisant varieties. The same trend was observed for the chlorophyll content and
fluorescence, with a significant correlation between the growth parameters and
chlorophyll content (p