21st International Symposium on Analytical and Environmental Problems 109 The Influence of Total Chromium Soil Content on the Maize Zinc Levels, in a Polluted Area Liana Maria Alda*, Simion Alda, Diana Moigradean ** , Teodor Cristea, George Andrei Draghici, Luminita Pirvulescu, Iosif Gergen 1 Banat’s University of Agricultural Science and Veterinary Medicine ”King Mihai I of Romania”, 300645 Timisoara 119, Calea Aradului, Romania; * e-mail: lianaalda@yahoo.com ** e-mail: dimodean@yahoo.com Abstract Chromium compounds are highly toxic to plants and are detrimental to their growth and development. Cr is toxic to most higher plants at 100 μMKg -1 dry weight, while Zn is an essential plant nutrient. The essentiality of Zn in plants was first shown in maize. The aim of this paper was to determine the influence of Cr contamined soils on the accumulation of Zn in maize (Zea mays L.) grains, sampled from Tarnaveni area (Mures County, Romania), a well known industrial center. The heavy metals contents in soils and maize were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry using a ContrAA 300 spectrophotometer with high resolution continuum source. In soil, Cr contents ranged from 9.7 ppm to 80.73 ppm and Zn from 21.77 to 99.87 ppm. In corn, the values for Cr are between 0.081 to 0,11 ppm and for Zn between 44.74 to 132.66 ppm. Mathematical modeling indicates that chromium in the soil might be the one which is determining the evolution of zinc corn content. Introduction Zinc is an essential plant nutrient. The essentiality of Zn in plants was first shown in maize [12]. Zinc deficiency is one of the most widespread micronutrient deficiencies in plants and causes severe reductions in crop production [5]. Chromium compounds are highly toxic to plants and are detrimental to their growth and development. Although some crops are not affected by low Cr concentration (3.8x10 -4 μM) [9,10], Cr is toxic to most higher plants at 100 μMKg -1 dry weight [6]. Soil pH is influencing the accumulation of chromium in plants, observation confirmed by various literature data[2]. Barcelo et al. found high correlation between chlorophyll pigments and Fe and Zn uptake in Cr-stressed plants [1]. The accessibility of metals for plants depends on soil reaction, mineral colloids, soil humidity, microbiological activity and organic matter content [16]. Literature contains numerous data on the distribution of minerals in plants from spontaneous flora or cultivated in different geographical areas, as well as a series of mineral analysis techniques [3,4,7]. The aim of this paper was to determine the influence of Cr contaminated soils on the accumulation of Zn in maize (Zea mays L.) grains, sampled from Tarnaveni area (Mures County, Romania), a well known industrial center. Experimental The prelevations points are located in a polluted area (Tărnaveni- Mures County, Romania). Soil and maize samples were collected from four familiarly farms located in the studied area. From each prelevation points (PP) were collected soil (0-40 cm depth) and maize samples. Determination of pH has been accomplished in watery suspension in report with the soil: water of 1:2.5. brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by University of Szeged