Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the way in which zeolite, zeolite modified with ammonium ions, zeolite modified with calcium ions and bentonite, influence the accumulation of copper, lead, iron, zinc and cadmium in different organs of tomatoes with each of the four tested at two different concentrations (5 and 10%). Moreover, the influence of the amendments on the content of chlorophyll and carotenoid was evaluated. The germination and biometric analyses demonstrated that the most vigorous plants were those grown on substrate containing zeolite-Ca and zeolite-NH₄. The accumulation of iron in the tomato plants can be reduced by using the zeolite modified with ammonium ions as amendment. All the investigated adsorbents are efficient to reduce the content of copper and lead in tomato organs. All the amendments tested are found to induce the increase of chlorophyll content in tomato leaves. The statistical analyses revealed that only the cooper concentration varies significantly between reference substrate (with no amendment) and each of those with amendments. 

Key words: X-ray diffraction, heavy metals, chlorophyll, carotenoid, tomato, zeolite, bentonite, fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), statistical analyses.