Effects of Sulfamethazine in Soil on Rice Growth

Abstract

For the sake of investigating the effects of residual antibiotics in soil on plant growth, sulfamethazine, which is commonly detected in soil, was selected in this project. In general, the growth index of rice at the seedling and mature stages, physiological/biochemical characteristics of roots and leaves, antibiotic residues, enrichment factors, and transport coefficients in various rice organs were respectively tested and analyzed to evaluate the ecological effects of sulfamethazine residues on rice. The results revealed that the inhibitory effect of sulfamethazine on plant height and biomass was maintained during the whole growth cycle. Moreover, the effect at the seedling stage was greater than that at the growth maturity stage, and the root part was more easily influenced than the seedling section. The root activity, nitrate reductase activity, and leaf chlorophyll content at the seedling stage were hindered by the increase in antibiotic content. By contrast, the antioxidant enzyme change showed a different tendency, in which the superoxide was activated, and the catalase and peroxidase were firstly activated and then inhibited. The sulfamethazine accumulation in various rice organs was in the order of root>leaf>sti>grain. The results of antibiotic risk assessment of rice grains exhibited that EDI/ADI was less than 0.1, indicating no health risk. The effect of sulfamethazine on enrichment factors and transport coefficients at the growth maturity stage was more obvious than that at the seedling stage. Considering the adverse effects of sulfamethazine on rice, we need to take the ecological effects of sulfamethazine on plants into consideration when applying livestock manure as organic fertilizer or using aquaculture water for irrigation, to ensure crop production safety.