Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry
Abstract
One of the most significant problems facing different ecosystems worldwide is the pollution of soil and water resources with heavy metals, which are harmful to biota. Metals are absorbed by plant roots through soil-plant interaction, leading to accumulation in plants. The plant's growth phase is one of the most important factors in heavy metal uptake and accumulation. Among heavy metal elements, nickel is one of the serious environmental pollutants and plant growth inhibitors due to its toxicity and persistent nature at high concentrations, as well as its bioaccumulation in ecosystems. This study aims to investigate how nickel accumulation in plant organs (roots, stems and leaves) and morphological characteristics (plant height, stem thickness, dry weights of roots, stems and leaves and root length) of silage maize seedlings at different growth stages (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 days) change when exposed to different nickel (Ni) concentrations (0, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 mg kg-1). Results showed that the highest Ni accumulation was obtained in the 20-day-old seedlings, while the lowest value was observed in the 10-day-old seedlings. The highest plant height, stem thickness, dry leaf weight, and dry stem weight were mostly observed in 5-day-old seedlings. In the study, the treatment of 500 and 600 mg kg-1 Ni to the plants resulted in plant death, while the treatment of 200 mg kg-1 Ni led to improvements in morphological characteristics. In terms of animal feed, 10-day-old seedlings are considered more advantageous because they contain less Ni compared to those grown from seed and other age groups, whereas 20-day-old seedlings are not recommended due to both their high Ni accumulation and weaker morphological characteristics. Considering the remediation capacity, we can say that 20-day-old seedlings may have the potential to be evaluated in areas contaminated with 300 and 400 mg kg-1 Ni.
DOI
10.55730/1300-011X.3492
Keywords
Heavy metal accumulation, seedling age, maize
First Page
625
Last Page
640
Publisher
The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK)
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
GÖÇERGİL, T, & İNCİ, H (2026). The effect of seedling age on nickel (Ni) accumulation in maize (Zea mays L.). Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry 50 (5): 625-640. https://doi.org/10.55730/1300-011X.3492
