Acidity and tolerance to metal of Lithuanian cultivars of Hordeum vulgare L

Abstract

Over l8% of the agricultural area of Lithuania is acidic. The reduction of soil liming caused by the present economic situation brings up urgent need to understand the behavior ofcrops under higher acidity ofthe soil. The present study is aimed to describe the variations in acid and healy metal tolerance ofthe seedlings of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars grown in two solutions of different acidity (pH 4.5 and 5.6). For evaluation of metal toxicity, cultivars 'Aura', 'Alsa', 'Ula', 'Auksiniai-3', 'Baronesse' and'Dzivosnij' were selected. Reaction of cultivars to equimolar (592 pM) aqueous solutions of 3CdSOq . 8HzO, CuSOa, Pb(NO3)2, MnSOa ' 5H2O and AIK(SOa)2 was examined. Significant differences were found between samples treated with various metals (Cd, Cu, Al, Pb, Mn), as well as between samples treated with metals and control samples. Differences between samples treated at pH 4.5 and pH 5.6 were insignificant. There was strong correlation (r = 0.862) between dry weight and length of the roots, and between dry weight and length of the shoots (r = 0.891). Our study revealed that'Dzivosnij' and 'Auksiniai 3' were the cultivars most sensitive to metals, while the least sensitive one wS; 'Aura', which will be used for further acidity and metal tolerance assessments.