Effects of Tetracyclines on Primary Root Length and Chlorophyll Contents of Vegetable Crops

Abstract

By increasing the use of antibiotics, it is concerned that unexpectedly contaminated the effect of antibiotics occurs in agricultural soil. In this study, we investigated the impact of antibiotics on the early stages of crop growth using lettuce (Lactuca sativa), cabbage (Brassica campestris), and radish (Raphanus raphanistrum). These crops were grown on agar plates vertically without antibiotics (0 mg/L) and with tetracycline 5 (TC5), 10 (TC10), and 20 (TC20) mg/L, chlortetracycline 5 (CTC5), 10 (CTC10), and 20 (CTC20) mg/L, and oxytetracycline 5 (OTC5), 10 (OTC10), and 20 (OTC20) mg/L at 20°C for five days. Root length of all crops inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner except for cabbage of OTC treatment. For lettuce, root length (cm) showed an average 6.06 and 1.39 upon control (0 mg/L) and TC20, respectively. Similarly, cabbage and radish exhibited an average 7.20 and 5.47, respectively, without TCs whereas TC20 inhibits the root length down to 2.26 and 1.59, respectively. The chlorophyll contents of cabbage and radish reduced as increased antibiotic concentration. Interestingly, chlorophyll contents of lettuce did not show significantly different. Therefore, we suggest future research directions by showing the effect of antibiotics on crops. TC effects on the cabbage root development and chlorophyll contents of Brassica campestris.