Screening the performance of soybean (Glycine max L. Merril) cultivar on multi-contaminated heavy metal soils.

BLANCO, A.; RODRIGUEZ, J.H.; PIGNATA, M.L.; FRANZARING J.

Congreso; XXXII Reunión Argentina de Fisiología Vegetal (RAFV) y XVI Congreso Latinoamericano de Fisiología Vegetal, Sociedad Argentina de Fisiología Vegetal; 2018

Heavy metal pollution of agricultural soils constitute a threat to crop growth and may impair yields and food security since international reference values could be exceeded. Cadmium (Cd) is one of the most relevant heavy metal due to its toxicity and plant availability.The aim of this study was to screen two soybeans varieties (ES Mentor, a low Cd accumulative variety, and Primus, a high accumulative variety) on different Europeanmine wastes with a different combination of heavy metals. The mine wastes were mixed with a standard growth substrate at different dilutions to minimize potential effects of differences in soil structure and pH. The substrate from a zinc mine resulted in a strong inhibition of the germination and growth in both varieties probably due to its high arsenic concentrations. On the other hand, plants grown on substrate mixtures from a copper mine performed equally well or better than those of the control. Common responses were a higherleaf greenness (SPAD) and a reduced specific leaf area, indicating a decrease in the size of the leaves and more compact tissues. Interactions between morphological parameters and the quality of the soils as well as the differences in cultivar performance will be investigated.