Uptake of Various Mineral Nutrients and Toxic Elements in Spelt (Triticum spelta L.) from a Sewage Sediment

Abstract

Uptake of various mineral nutrients and accumulation of toxic elements was studied in spelt (Triticum spelta L. lines „A” and „B”) from a soil moderately contaminated with toxic elements (prevalently with chromium; 111-128 mg/kg), and from a sewage sediment contaminated with cadmium (1.27 mg/kg), chromium (1027 mg/kg), copper (189 mg/kg), nickel (49.5 mg/kg), lead (287 mg/kg), and zinc (888 mg/kg). Contaminated cover soil and sewage sediment originated from Debrecen Lovász-zug, Hungary (47029’000’’ N, 21035’738’’ E), from a former wastewater postsettling pond. Spelt was grown in a pot experiment for 52 days in a growth chamber, in cover soil (as a control) and in cover soil treated with 10% (m/m) sewage sediment. It was found that application of sewage sediment significantly enhanced the uptake of macro- and mezoelements (P, K, Ca, Mg, Na), and essential microelements (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn) both in roots and shoots of spelt. Toxic elements (As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb) accumulated prevalently in the roots of plants, and the applied sewage sediment significantly increased their concentration in roots and shoots, as compared to the control cultures. Breeders supposed line „A” of spelt to be more sensitive for abiotic stresses (e.g. toxic element contamination) than line “B”. This hypothesis, however, was not confirmed by our observations.