Effects of industrial and sewage waste waters on the concentration of soluble carbon, nitrogen, and some mineral elements in sunflower plants

Abstract

The effect of three waste waters from two factories, Manquabad (fertilizer) and Bani Quara (detergents and oils), and a sewage effluent from Arab El‐Madabegh (sewage effluent) on the soluble nitrogen and carbon fractions in sunflower plants was studied. In addition, tissue concentrations of sodium (Na), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), chloride (Cl), sulfur (S), phosphorus (P), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), and iron (Fe) were determined. Plants analyzed monthly that were grown in waste waters were found to have significantly higher soluble sugar, hydrolysable carbohydrate, and soluble protein in both their shoots and roots than plants grown in tap water (control). No definite pattern was noted for amino acid responses to the waste water treatment. Element concentrations in the plants were variable, affected by the pollution source differences and monthly sampling. Waste waters significantly enhanced the accumulation of most elements in both shoots and roots. The most notable effect was the increase in the Na, Cl, and Zn concentrations. In addition, waste waters significantly decreased the K content in both shoots and roots. Plants growing in Manquabad waste waters have the highest concentration of Zn, Mn, and Fe. The internal concentration for the mineral elements in the plant tissue was postively and negatively correlated with that found in the waste waters. The negative correlations existed with most elements in the plant tissue and waste waters, indicating the presence of an active regulation system that influenced the element uptake from the waste waters.