Bioaccumulation of selected heavy metals in maize grown for fodder

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the bioaccumulation of selected heavy metals in corn plants grown on the increasing area of land used for fodder for cattle, mainly dairy cattle, whose breeding has became the dominant direction of agricultural development in Podlasie region. The study was carried out on the basis of light and medium soils samples and maize samples grown for fodder for dairy cows. The total content of cadmium, lead, nickel, copper and zinc was determined in soil samples as well as in plants. On the basis of the obtained results, the bioaccumulation coefficients of the above-mentioned metals in maize plants were calculated. It was found that the soils, on which maize was grown, were mostly characterized by the content of heavy metals at the level of geochemical background. A small part was contaminated with cadmium on the first level according to JUNG numbers. Maize, due to its heavy metal content, met the requirements for fodder plants. The bioaccumulation coefficients of metals in maize were most often low and adequate to their low content in soils, although in the case of cadmium and lead they indicate an off-soil source.