The effect of ash from thermal power station on the heavy metal content of Festuca arundinacea and Festuca pratensis

Due to its biological activities, adsorption and absorption properties, the soil can function as a cleaning system for many industrial pollutants in moderate concentrations. Because of the microelement content of ash, it can be used for improvement of acid soils or with microelement deficit. The present paper describes the possibilities of using thermal power station ash as amendment and source of microelements for two gramineous species, used as forage and energetic plants. For the experiment design we used randomized blocks with 3 repetitions. The ash was incorporated in soil before sowing of Festuca arundinacea and Festuca pratensis species. Experimental variants were the following: V0 – 0 t/ha non-treated control, V1 – 1 t/ha, V2 – 3 t/ha and V3 – 5 t/ha ash. Plant samples were collected from the above-ground organs, one year after sowing. Heavy metal content was determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy method. Regarding the metal content, the data show that the application of ashes in different dosages had similar effects on both of the gramineous species. The zinc content decreases slightly with the increase of ash dosage at both of the species. Compared to control variant, the copper content increases directly with the amount of applied ash at Festuca arundinacea and decreases at Festuca pratensis. Cobalt, nickel and manganese concentrations presented an increase due to higher ash concentrations at both of the plant species compared to control. From all of the assessed metal contents, manganese presented the highest concentrations in plants. The concentrations are low compared to non-treated control, thus there was no toxicity effect of the studied heavy metals from thermal power station ashes

Vegetable Landraces: The “Gene Banks” for Traditional Farmers and Future Breeding Programs

Crop diversity of vegetable species is threatened by the current homogenization of agricultural production systems due to specialization of plant breeders and increasing globalization in the seed sector. With the onset of modern agriculture, most traditional vegetable cultivars were replaced by highly productive and often genetically uniform commercial breeds and hybrids. This led to the loss of landraces, especially in countries with a super-intensive agriculture. The agricultural biodiversity erosion represents a huge risk for food safety and security. Vegetable landraces are associated with the cultural heritage of their place of origin being adapted to local agro-ecological areas and are more resilient to environmental stress than commercial cultivars. The chapter aim to highlight the importance of keeping and using vegetable landraces as valuable sources of genes for traditional farmers, but also for future breeding processes. We analyze the historical role of landraces, genetic diversity, high physiological adaptability to specific local conditions in association with traditional farming systems, as well as the breeding perspectives and evaluation of genetic diversity based on molecular markers

The Influence of Osmotic Stress on Physiological and Biochemical Indices at Garlic (Allium sativum L.) Local Populations

Garlic is an asexually propagated crop with high morphological diversity and uses throughout the world. Although the salt tolerance among the cultivated species is low, there are some genotypes which present an acceptable level of adaptability to moderate saline conditions. In vegetables, these genotypes are represented especially by local varieties breeded by local farmers. It is therefore necessary to achieve a balance between productivity and salinity tolerance, for the obtaining of new genotypes with high productivity. Our experiments aimed to study the main physiological and biochemical indicators for the identification of salinity tolerant genotypes in a collection of local autumn and spring garlic populations from Timis County. The local populations studied show a wide genetic diversity based on synthesis of free proline, by selecting genotypes with good salinity tolerance for five autumn garlic varieties and five for spring garlic. There are major differences both morphologically and physiologically, between studied varieties of halophytes. Identification of these cultivars may represent a resource for breeding programs of cultivated vegetables on saline soils

Bioprospecting Fluorescent Plant Growth Regulators from Arabidopsis to Vegetable Crops

The phytohormone auxin is involved in almost every process of a plant’s life, from germination to plant development. Nowadays, auxin research connects synthetic chemistry, plant biology and computational chemistry in order to develop innovative and safe compounds to be used in sustainable agricultural practice. In this framework, we developed new fluorescent compounds, ethanolammonium p-aminobenzoate (HEA-pABA) and p-nitrobenzoate (HEA-pNBA), and investigated their auxin-like behavior on two main commercial vegetables cultivated in Europe, cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and tomato (Solanumlycopersicum), in comparison to the model plant Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Moreover, the binding modes and affinities of two organic salts in relation to the natural auxin indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) into TIR1 auxin receptor were investigated by computational approaches (homology modeling and molecular docking). Both experimental and theoretical results highlight HEA-pABA as a fluorescent compound with auxin-like activity both in Arabidopsis and the commercial cucumber and tomato. Therefore, alkanolammonium benzoates have a great potential as promising sustainable plant growth stimulators to be efficiently used in vegetable crops

Studies Regarding Tailings Pond Seepage Water from Mining Activities over Avena sativa L. Germination Influence

Cultivation of oat in the limiting areas of tailings pond might be regarded as one of the possibilities that could lead to the general amelioration of these places. In order to characterize the waste products, to determine and evaluate the components that may be leached from waste products and that can affect the limiting areas of tailings pond, leaching tests were performed. In this paper, we have observed the influence of eluate, obtained from leaching tests, on seed germination, radicle and coleoptyle development as well as on the amount of accumulated dry matter for Avena sativa L., genotypes. According to our researches, we may conclude that the studied genotypes of Avena sativa L. showed tolerance to eluate while values registered for seed germination, radicle and coleoptyle development as well as dry matter content were comparatively higher than those registered for the control variant

The effect of ash from thermal power station on the heavy metal content of Festuca arundinacea and Festuca pratensis

Due to its biological activities, adsorption and absorption properties, the soil can function as a cleaning system for many industrial pollutants in moderate concentrations. Because of the microelement content of ash, it can be used for improvement of acid soils or with microelement deficit. The present paper describes the possibilities of using thermal power station ash as amendment and source of microelements for two gramineous species, used as forage and energetic plants. For the experiment design we used randomized blocks with 3 repetitions. The ash was incorporated in soil before sowing of Festuca arundinacea and Festuca pratensis species. Experimental variants were the following: V0 – 0 t/ha non-treated control, V1 – 1 t/ha, V2 – 3 t/ha and V3 – 5 t/ha ash. Plant samples were collected from the above-ground organs, one year after sowing. Heavy metal content was determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy method. Regarding the metal content, the data show that the application of ashes in different dosages had similar effects on both of the gramineous species. The zinc content decreases slightly with the increase of ash dosage at both of the species. Compared to control variant, the copper content increases directly with the amount of applied ash at Festuca arundinacea and decreases at Festuca pratensis. Cobalt, nickel and manganese concentrations presented an increase due to higher ash concentrations at both of the plant species compared to control. From all of the assessed metal contents, manganese presented the highest concentrations in plants. The concentrations are low compared to non-treated control, thus there was no toxicity effect of the studied heavy metals from thermal power station ashes