This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copper sulphate is used as an antifungal agent. Long-term applied fungicides allow the accumulation of copper in soil. This metal pollution is a problem when it enters in the food chains. In this study we investigated the effects of CuSO4 x 5H20 at different concentrations (0.05g/L; 0.1g/L; 0.5 g/L; 1 g/L) on seeds germination. The experiments have been carried out on two species Triticum aestivum L and Lactuca sativa L. For each variant, we used two replications (each with 30 seeds). The process of germination was determined by means of the indicators that are considered representative in the specialty literature. In the study we have demonstrated that treatments with minimal concentration (0.05g/L and 0.1 g/L) stimulate the germination energy and germination capacity. Instead, the treatment of seeds with 0.5g/L and 1 g/L copper sulphate affected the process of germination. The stress produced by the concentration 1 g/L copper sulphate determined a strong inhibition of the plants growing. The inhibitory effect of heavy metals on seeds germination is in correlation with the species and with the concentration of heavy metals. Copper is necessary for the development of plants, but at high concentrations it is extremely toxic.
The statements, opinions and data contained in the journal are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publisher and the editor(s). We stay neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
