Evaluation of Arsenic and Nutrients Uptake of Tomato Plant at Various Arsenic Concentrations of Irrigation Waters
Abstract
Under various Arsenic (As) loads, growth of the tomato plant and changes in
elemental uptake were investigated in this experimental study. Plants were
transplanted into the As free soils and the loads of As were increased
gradually with irrigation. The root and stem dry weights (DW) steadily
increased with the increase of As concentration up to 1.5 mg L−1, while the
DW dropped to lower than the control plant’s DW when the As concentration
was higher than mg L−1. Although the leaves DW variations for the studied As
concentrations were negligible, As application to the tomato plants positively
affected the biomass amount of leaf. Considering the decrease in root/
shoot ratio, the root growth was more promoted at low As concentrations,
while the effect of As on the production rate of aboveground biomass could
be neglected. When the As concentration was increased from 0.5 mg L−1 to
3.0 mg L−1, average 90% of the total applied As to the plants was accumulated
in the root and As content in the root was enhanced about four times.
Significantly higher levels of N, K, Mg, and Ca in the aerial parts of tomato
than in roots were determined while the level of P was about equal in the
tissues. Among the tissues, the lowest microelements; Cu, Mn, Fe, and Zn
concentrations were determined at the root of control plant. However,
especially at high As loads, the increase in the amount of microelements in
the root was considerably higher compared to the stem and leaf.