Environmental Impact of Magnetized Water: Evidence from Heavy Metals in the System Soil-Plant

Capacity for agriculture production needs to be increased to meet the demands of the increasing human population. Within alternatives for an improvement in technology of agriculture in arid and sub arid countries’ irrigation with magnetized water (MH2O). This study was carried out to investigate the nutrients taken up by plants irrigated with (MH2O). During this study, we have grown Cucumis sativus in greenhouse for one month. The growth was carried on a sandy loamy soil type with two sets of pots 1) one set of pots without MH2O, as reference and 2) another set of pots was irrigated with MH2O. The results revealed that the plants’ leaves irrigated with MH2O were enriched in Zn, Cu and depleted in Ba, Ti and Sr relative to the plant grown in control conditions and unchanged in Fe, V, Ni;Mn and Cr. The roots of the same plants irrigated with MH2O were depleted in Fe, Mn, Ti, Ba, V, Ni, Cr, Zn and Sr. Translocation of elements from roots to leaves irrigated with MH2O seems more important than for plants irrigated with ordinary water. Based on the results of this study, irrigation with magnetized water may exhibit a positive effect on nutrition of plants. In addition to the effect of MH2O on growth, content of nutrients, revealed the effect on the quality of plants. These results show that irrigation with MH2O in arid countries with reduced water resources, may help to promote agriculture for an amelioration by increasing available elements.

Effect of a High Silver Stress on the Element Transfers from a Smectite-Type Clay Substrate to Plants

Two species of radishes, Raphanus sativus and Raphanus raphanistrum, were grown in the laboratory in the same substrate consisting of a smectite-type clay, which was watered at the beginning of the experience with 50 ml of a solution containing either none or 1000, 2000 or 4000 mg/L of AgNO3, respectively. Occurrence of the toxic metal in the substrate outlines higher element uptakes by the cultivated species Raphanus sativus than by the wild species Raphanus raphanistrum, except for the highest degree of Ag pollution. After a one-month growth in the Ag-polluted substrate, Raphanus sativus was depleted in most of the major, trace and rare-earth elements, except for Al, Fe, Th, Ag and U that increased in the radishes from substrate polluted by 2000 mg/L of AgNO3, and Sr, Co, Ni, U and Ag that increased in the radishes from substrate polluted by 4000 mg/L of AgNO3. Raphanus raphanistrum was enriched in all elements except Si, Na, Rb and K in the polluted substrate. The uptake was monitored by a cation-exchange process in the rhy-zosphere between mineral particles and the watering solution in the presence of various enzymes with specific activities that induced a variable uptake with the REEs being even fractionated. These activities most probably depend on combined factors, such as the plant species, and the chemical and physical properties of the substrate. The results obtained here reveal also that accumulation of nutrient elements and others in the plants is not uniform at a given Ag pollution of the substrate and therefore at a given Ag contamination in the same plant species.