Submit Manuscript

Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences

Year: 2007 | Volume: 10 | Issue: 6 | Page No.: 874-879
Facebook Twitter Digg Reddit Linkedin StumbleUpon E-mail

Article Trend

Total views 260

Search

Authors

I.M. Zeid

H.M. Abou El Ghate

Keywords

Research Article

Response of Bean to Some Heavy Metals in Sewage Water

I.M. Zeid and H.M. Abou El Ghate
Seed germination and early growth of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) seedlings were significantly reduced when irrigated with a mixture of Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb at concentrations of sewage water. Leaf content of photosynthetic pigments, carbohydrates, nucleic acids and total nitrogen also decreased. Cd and Pb significantly inhibited the activity of α and β-amylases and protease enzymes during germination. Treatment of the mixture solution by precipitation, rice residue or EDTA decreased its retarding effect. The effect of precipitation was more pronounced. Whilst the lower concentration of Cu and Zn stimulated germination, growth and metabolism of bean seedling, the higher concentrations showed inhibitory effects. Even at very low concentrations of Cd and Pb germination, growth and metabolism of bean significantly decreased. Precipitation treatment alleviated the adverse effects of higher concentrations of Zn, Cu, Cd and Pb. Whilst rice residue and EDTA treatments slightly enhanced germination of seeds treated with high concentrations of Zn and Cu, they did not affect germination of seeds treated with Cd or Pb.
PDF Fulltext XML References Citation

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *