Abstract
The aim of this work is to evaluate the extent of risk for the transfer of heavy metals from contaminated soil to selected parts of crops. The goal is to be achieved under the model conditions of vegetation pot experiment. Soil taken from the area of Výčapy-Opatovce and three types of cereals - millet (Panicum miliaceum) cv. UNIQUM, oats (Avena sativa) cv. ATEGO and amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus) - were used. For each crop, four variants (A - control with basic ferilization, B, C, D) were made and cadmium in the form of a water-soluble salt of Cd(NO3)2 was applied in gradual specific doses with 5- (variant B), 10- (variant C), 15-fold (variant D) as the limit values by Law no. 220/2004 Z.z. to assess the state of soil contamination. Crops were harvested at ‘full ripeness’ and using the AAS method (VARIAN 240FS) the heavy metal content was determined by the wet mineralization of plant samples. The lowest cadmium content in the aboveground biomass was observed in millet in comparison to other plants, while the highest was recorded in amaranth. The highest increase in the cadmium content in the aboveground biomass in this crop (appr. 18-fold) was noticed in variant C. The lowest cadmium content was also observed in millet seeds. The highest content of Cd in the seeds was recorded in oats in all variants.