Influence of Oil and Lead Contamination of Ordinary Chernozem on Growth and Development of Spring Barley

Abstract

The influence of oil and lead contamination of ordinary chernozem on the growth and development of spring barley (Priazovskii-9 breed) is studied in field microplot model experiments. It is shown that the content of lead in this soil at the rate of up to 500 mg/kg above the background level does not cause a significant decrease in the morphometric plant parameters; on the contrary, it proved to be even highly stimulating to vegetative and generative organs in some variants of the experiment. At the same time, the amount of lead was elevated in straw and barley grain when its content was at a level of 25 mg/kg above the background level in the soil, which makes this barley dangerous for consumption. A significant negative effect of oil on plants was observed at a dose from 1% of soil mass; its 10% content in soil completely inhibited seed germination. The generative organs of barley proved to be no less sensitive to chemical soil contamination than vegetative organs. The accumulation of lead was higher in barley straw than in the grain; however, the coefficient of lead accumulation increased more rapidly in barley grain than in barley straw with increase in the content of this heavy metal in soil. The amount of lead that entered from the vegetative organs into barley grain was 1.7–4.1 times higher in the lead-contaminated soil than in the noncontaminated soil.