INFLUÊNCIA DE DIFERENTES CONCENTRAÇÕES DE NÍQUEL (NI) SOBRE A GERMINAÇÃO E CRESCIMENTO INICIAL DE Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) DE WIT.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate and evaluate the influence of different nickel concentrations on germination and initial growth of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) thee Wit., aiming its use in restoration projects of contaminated areas. Initially defined five treatments for nickel concentrations, A-0 mg.L-1(control), B-40 mg.L-1, C-80 mg.L-1, D-120 mg.L-1e E-200 mg.L-1. Each treatment had ten repetitions, where each experimental unit was considered as a plastic container (350 ML) containing, two filter paper discs and twenty scarified seeds of the species. Each recipient received 10 ML of nickel nitrate solution (Ni(NO3)2) according to its concentration and then were placed in a bench of plant Biology Laboratory at PUC-Goiás, until the collection of data on germination and early growth. The nickel containing different concentrations were obtained by diluting a standard stock solution (100.0 mg L-1) using (Ni(NO3)2). To verify the effect of nickel on the growth of L. leucocephala seedlings was mounted a second experiment using plants with 120 days after germination. For this, was performed the production of 80 seedlings in 40 plastic bags (20x15 cm) containing a mixture of sand and organic substrate (1.1), 2 seedlings being allocated in each plastic bag. The seedlings remain in the nursery of the Plant Biology Laboratory at PUC-Goiás for a period of 180 days and periodically received water and nutrient solution complete of Hoagland Fortnightly. Four treatments were set for nickel concentrations, A-0 mg.L-1 (control), B-100 mg.L-1 C-200 mg.L-1,D-400 mg.L-1, with 10 replicates for each treatment. The data were analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey at 5% significance level. The results showed that the germination and initial growth of L. leucocephala plants was not significantly affected by different concentrations of nickel, revealing that the species under study has considerable tolerance to this Heavy Metal without damage to their physiology and development, making promising its use in the recovery of areas contaminated by this element and creating sustainable alternative for remediation of these areas though Phytoremediation.