SodininkyStĖ ir darŽininkyStĖ 28(2)

SCIENTIFIC WORKS OF THE LITHUANIAN INSTITUTE OF HORTICULTUREAND LITHUANIAN UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE. SODININKYSTĖ IRDARŽININKYSTĖ. 2009. 28(2).Nutritional diagnosis of apple-tree growing inthe cement factory regionJurga Sakalauskaitė 1 , Eugenija Kupčinskienė 2 , Darius Kviklys 1 ,Laisvūnė Duchovskienė 1 , Rimantė Zinkutė 3 ,Sandra Sakalauskienė 1 , Pavelas Duchovskis 11Lithuanian Institute of Horticulture, Kauno 30, LT-54333 Babtai, Kaunas distr.,Lithuania, e-mail j.sakalauskaite@lsdi.lt2Vytautas Magnus University, Department of Biology, Vileikos 8, LT-44404, Kaunas3Institute of Geology and Geography, Department of Environmental Geochemistry,T. Ševčenkos 13, LT-03223 VilniusThe aim of the study was to evaluate the changes in the content of macroelements (N,P, Ca, Mg and Fe), microelements (Mn, Zn, Cu, B, Co, Mo,) and nonessential elements (Ti,V Cr, Pb, Ba, Ni, Ag, Al, Sr, Sn) in the leaves of apple-trees as a reflection of the impact ofchemical nature pollution in the cement factory area in Lithuania. As a control, a garden in a“relatively clean” district (Babtai) was selected. A deficiency (< 2.1–2.4 %) of the nitrogen inthe leaves of apple-trees was documented in the investigated sites. According to our results,we maintain that apple-trees growing in Babtai garden sustain deficiency of N, Ca, Fe, Zn andgreatly accumulate P and Ba. Apple-tree growing in the vicinity of cement factory sustainsthe deficiency of N, P, Mn, Cu, Zn, B and Mo and greatly accumulate Ca and Mg.Key words: cement factory, Malus domestica L., element, leaves, soil.Introduction. Essential elements play a decisive role in plant nutrition and canaffect crop yields when not present in appropriate concentration levels. Excesses ordeficiencies of nutrients are a special concern in fruit trees where nutritional imbalancesmay affect the yield for more than a single season (Pestana et al., 2004), sincenew growth depends on the nutrients stored in the plant. Air pollutants are knownto affect the nutrient metabolism of trees in different ways. Low concentrations ofsome compounds, such as nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and hard particles, mayserve as nutrient sources and might be used by plants (Fangmeier et al., 1994; Rennenberget al., 1996). Higher concentrations of gaseous air pollutants may increaseor decrease the uptake of nutrients by the roots, and can intensify nutrient leachingfrom leaves, as a consequence of membrane damage (Seufert, 1990). In addition tothese direct effects, the deposition of air pollutants to the soil is known to alter soilchemical characteristics, such as pH-value and buffering capacity, thus affecting the29