Lead uptake,toxicity and accumulation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phaseolus vulgaris</Emphasis> plants

The effects of lead were investigated in bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Zlota Saxa) grown hydroponically in nutrient solution and exposed to Pb(NO₃)₂ (0.1, 0.5, 1 mM) with or without equimolar concentrations of chelator ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). The roots treated only with Pb(NO₃)₂ accumulated up to 25 g(Pb) kg⁻¹(d.m.), during 4-d exposure. However, in bean plants exposed to 0.5 mM Pb + 0.5 mM EDTA or 1 mM Pb + 1 mM EDTA 2.5 times less Pb was determined. In bean plants treated only with Pb, less than 6 % of total lead accumulated was transported to the aboveground parts, while in the case of plants grown with Pb + EDTA, around 50 % of total Pb was transported to the shoots.