ISHS Acta Horticulturae 379: International Symposium on Quality of Fruit and Vegetables: Influence of Pre- and Post- Harvest Factors and Technology
GENETIC DIFFERENCES IN HEAVY METAL CONTENT OF CARROT ROOTS |
| Authors: | B. Michalik, R. Baranski, M. Gaweda, E. Zukowska |
| Abstract:
In the years 1991 and 1992, four carrot hybrids were grown at three localities with different level of soil pollution, situated near Krakow, Poland. After 140 days of growth, a mixed sample of root tissue was prepared from 30 plants of each cultivar harvested at each location. The levels of metals were analyzed with AAS (Varian AA-20) in tissue dry ashed at 500°C. The content of Cd, Ni, Pb and Cr in the soil was determined by acid digestion with perchloric acid. Zn, Mn, Cu and Fe were measured in their available forms which were extracted in 1 N-HCl. The heavy metal content in carrot roots depended on the locality. The highest levels, except for cadmium, were found in carrots grown in Krzeszowice, and the lowest in Prusy. The high content of lead and copper observed in the plants grown in Krzeszowice was the result of very high soil contamination. At this locality, the concentration of lead in soil was 10 times higher than in Prusy and Wieliczka, and that of copper was 5 times higher. Only the high level of zinc in Krzeszowice was not reflected in the root content. The cultivars differed as to the heavy metal content of their roots. Kama F1 hybrid proved to be the best. It had the lowest concentration of lead, nickel, chromium, copper, manganese and iron, as well as an intermediate level of zinc. The highest content of toxic lead, zinc and manganese was found in the roots of Karo F1 cultivar. The only element that was found in similar amounts among all the cultivars was cadmium. Cultivar differences in lead content amounted to 2.64 ppm in Kama and 4.31 ppm in Karo. Similarly, about twice as much chromium was found in Karo and Karola cultivars as in Kalina, calculating the content in dry weight. All these differences were markedly larger if the concentration was expressed in the dry weight, not the fresh weight, of samples. | |
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