Plant Soil Environ., 2023, 69(8):400-407 | DOI: 10.17221/265/2023-PSE

Assessment of heavy metals in soil, oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) and honeyOriginal Paper

Atanas Atanasov1, Ivaylo Hristakov1, Gergana Kuncheva2, Milan Koszel3, Veselin Dochev1
1 Agricultural Machinery Department, Agrarian and Industrial Faculty, University of Ruse, Ruse, Bulgaria
2 Institute of Soil Science, Agrotechnologies and Plant Protection "Nikola Pushkarov", Sofia, Bulgaria
3 Department of Machinery Exploitation and Management of Production Processes, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Lublin, Poland

The aim of this study was to determine the heavy metals concentrations in soil, inflorescences of Brassica napus and rapeseed honey sampled from some regions of north-eastern Bulgaria. Thirteen locations were selected for experimental studies. The soils, plants and honeys samples were taken from conventional beekeeping areas away from major industrial pollutants. The median amounts of elements in the soil samples (mg/kg DW) are 1.1246 for Fe(s), 0.7048 for Al(s), 0.5636 for Pb(s), 0.1658 for Cu(s) and 0.0148 for Zn(s). The median amounts of heavy metals measured in the inflorescences of Brassica napus (mg/ kg DW) are 5.5430 for Fe(p), 2.9095 for Zn(p), 1.3225 for Pb(p), 0.2593 for Cu(p) and 0.2105 for Al(p). The median heavy metals concentrations in  tested honey (mg/kg DW) are 1.0026 for Fe(h), 0.1849 for Al(h), 0.1832 for Pb(h), 0.1250 for Zn(h), 0.0702 for. Cu(h). The relationship between the heavy metal in soil, plants and honey was investigated using the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. Significant differences in the concentrations of Fe(s), Al(s) and Pb(s) in soils, Fe(p) and Zn(p) in the plant samples, Fe(h) in honey samples from the different locations were found. The heavy metal content tested in honey did not pose a risk to human health.

Keywords: estimation; canola; blossom; accumulation; metal ions

Received: June 27, 2023; Revised: July 31, 2023; Accepted: August 2, 2023; Published: August 30, 2023  Show citation

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Atanasov A, Hristakov I, Kuncheva G, Koszel M, Dochev V. Assessment of heavy metals in soil, oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) and honey. Plant Soil Environ. 2023;69(8):400-407. doi: 10.17221/265/2023-PSE.
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