Affiliation:
1. SİVAS BİLİM VE TEKNOLOJİ ÜNİVERSİTESİ
Abstract
Squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) is a vegetable species that is appreciated and consumed in
the Türkiye world and in the world. Its cultivation is carried out both in the open field and
greenhouse. Heavy metals create adverse conditions for all living things due to their toxic effects.
In this study, key heavy metals like aluminum (Al), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), lead (Pb) and nickel
(Ni) were added to the nutrient medium (Murashige and Skoog-MS)at different concentrations (0,
100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 μM). Squash seeds were germinated under in vitro conditions. During
the research, the number of leaves and roots, stem and root lengths were determined. According to
the results, the number of leaves was the highest in the control group for all heavy metals. The
number of roots decreased as the heavy metal concentration increased. While stem length reached
the highest number in all heavy metals in the control group, root lengths had the lowest levels at 400
and 500 μM doses. Considering these results, it has been revealed that as the dose of heavy metals
increases, the growth of the plant is retarded.
Subject
General Earth and Planetary Sciences,General Environmental Science
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