Biogeochemical and physiological adaptability of winter wheat (Triticum L.) under the influence of heavy metals in the Forest-Steppe of Ukraine

Abstract

In recent decades, the main objects of biogeochemical research have become the territories of agroecosystems, industrial cities and adjacent agricultural lands. The problem of environmental pollution with pollutants, chemical compounds of microelement composition is one of the most important problems of environmental safety. At present, modern studies of scientists consider toxic heavy metals as the most dangerous pollutants of soil, water and plant products of agriculture. In addition, the most active agents of pollution are their mobile chemical forms, which are able to pass from solid phases into soil and water solutions and be absorbed by plants and other organisms. Cereal crops have the ability to absorb nutrients both through the root system and the leaf apparatus, the surface of the stem. Also, trace elements are involved in many physiological and biochemical processes in plants, including acceleration of development, flowering, fertilization and fruiting, metabolism, etc. Quantitative characteristics of the migration of heavy metals from soil to plants during 2022 were evaluated for the studied territories of the Forest Steppe of Ukraine, in particular in Kyiv and Vinnytsia regions. Complex studies were carried out to determine the influence of Zn2+ and Cu2+ on phytocomponents of ecosystems. At the same time, data were obtained on the effect of zinc and copper salts on seed germination and growth of winter wheat seedlings. It is shown that, depending on the concentration of salts, there is a different effect on seed germination. As you know, heavy metals have a mutagenic, toxic effect and affect the intensity of biochemical processes. The authors established that according to the ecotoxicological criterion of bioaccumulation in the «soil — plant» system, the studied trace elements can be arranged in the following order: Cu2+ > Zn2+. Based on the results of experimental and theoretical research, a comparative analysis of the accumulation of heavy metals in the organs of Triticum aestivum (vulgare) L. (common wheat) is presented. According to the results of field experience, differences in the distribution of Zn 2+ and Cu 2+ in the organs of winter wheat have been established, grown on typical chernozem and gray podzolized soils. It was found that the main barrier function of the inactivation of the investigated heavy metals is performed by the roots of plants.