Impact of heavy metals assessments on the physiological aspects of spinach plant (Spinacia oleracea L.)

Abstract

This study assesses the bio-concentration of heavy metals in agricultural soils and its effect on spinach (Spinacia oleracea), a hyper-accumulator plant that is important for food safety. The experiments were performed on Spinach plants by using different parameters such as root and shoot length, carbohydrate content and moisture content by treating spinach plants with different concentrations of heavy metals likes cadmium, lead and arsenic. In the greenhouse experiment, the spinach seeds were sown in pots containing metal-amended soil solutions in concentrations of 0, 50,100, 150, and 200 mg kg^-1. According to the assessment of response to metals after eight weeks of exposure, the length parameters of both root and shoot significantly decreased with the increment of metal concentrations. Cadmium and lead were specifically identified as the most phytotoxic elements, reducing root growth by 40% and shoot growth by 30% at the highest dose studied. In terms of growth, the declines were not as significant; however, this was once more attributed to arsenic. Consequently, the carbohydrate value decreased considerably when exposed to cadmium concentration in plant, while moisture content reduced to 20 % in presence of cadmium and lead and 15 % under arsenic stress conditions. According to the obtained results, heavy metal toxicity reduces spinach growth and physiological processes, including photosynthesis and water uptake, which are fatal to the health of the plants and hence food quality.