Germination energy and seed germination of cultivated plants as indicators of water contamination with nickel

Heavy metal pollution of water ecosystems is currently one of the major environmental problems. Nickel (Ni+2) is a metal that usually occurs in the environment at very low levels. However, its presence in water at higher concentrations is becoming more frequent, as a result of antropogenic activity. The majority of cultivated plants do not tolerate high concentrations of nickel in the environment. Therefore, its detection in water is of great importance for irrigation water risk assessment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the tolerance of sunflower, maize, buckwheat, cabbage and white mustard seeds to different levels of nickel in water and assess their potential as bioindicators of water contamination with this heavy metal. Bioassay was carried out according to a standard filter paper method, and the results were processed with statistical software SPSS 17, using Duncan’s multiple range test. The effect of nickel on GE and G differed depending on plant species and the applied concentration. GE and G of sunflower seeds were significantly inhibited by Ni+2 when applied at MAC rate for irrigation water (100µg/l), while maize and buckwheat seeds were tolerant to MAC rates of this metal. Ni+2 stimulated GE and G of cabbage seeds at MAC for irrigation water (100µg/l) and G of white mustard seeds at MAC rate for II class of water (ICPDR - 50µg/l)