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TOXICITY OF SOIL POLLUTION WITH PETROLEUM ON PLANT SEEDS

Paula Cojocaru

Abstract

In the paper we studied toxicity of petroleum on germination and seedling stage of plant using phytotoxicity tests. These tests measure the decrease or absence of germination and root elongation only after a few days of exposure to contaminated soils compared to unpolluted soil (control). The plant seeds used were rape (Brassica napus), white mustard (Sinapis alba), peas (Pisum sativum) and rye (Secale cereals). The soil used in the experiments was a reference OECD soil for these types of tests. The soil was polluted with petroleum at concentrations ranging from 1000 mg/kg to 8000 mg/kg. After three days of incubation in the dark at 25 ± 1 °C the germination rate and root elongation for each plant were determined. At the 8000 mg/kg concentration, the highest germination rate was obtained for 70% rye and 60% for rape and pea seeds. In terms of root elongation, the most affected by oil toxicity were rye seeds followed by white mustard, peas and rape. The length of the roots elongation was measured using the ImageTools program. For each experimental variant, the inhibition of plant roots studied under the influence of the applied pollutant was calculated.

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