The effect of root‐treatment of cauliflower, spinach, and parsley
plants with lead and cadmium were studied. Both metal ions showed
obvious growth inhibition of treated plants with cadmium having higher
toxicity on growth than lead.
Cadmium was more concentrated in the
edible parts of the three treated plants whereas lead was more
concentrated in the edible parts of cauliflower and spinach plants only.
Metal
ion concentrations and total metal ion content of treated plants
increased with the increase of concentration of cadmium or lead ions in
solutions used for treatment. The uptake of metal ion per unit
concentration decreased in treated plants with the increase of
concentration of cadmium or lead ions in solutions used for treatment.
Metal ion concentration and metal uptake were higher in the plants treated with cadmium than those treated with lead.