Abstract
The research was conducted to evaluate the effect of rootstock cultivar combinations on the content of heavy metals, micro, and macronutrients in the fruits of plums. The study was conducted in Brestnik village, situated at 3.5 km distance from the source of pollution – the Non-Ferrous Metal Works near Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Three plum cultivars of “Stanley”, “Jojo“ and “C. Lepotica“ were studied on the rootstocks of GxN15, GF 677, Wavit, Ishtara and Myrobalan for the content of heavy metals, macro, and microelements in the fruits of plums. The content of heavy metals, macro and microelements in the fruits are different for each rootstock combination, depending on the cultivar. Plum fruits tested negative for the presence of Cd, whereas Pb levels were within maximum permissible concentration. The effect of rootstocks on the accumulation of macro and microelements (K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn and B) was significant. The results showed that the rootstocks strongly affected the fruit element uptake of plums.
Keywords: plum, cultivars, rootstock combination, heavy metals, macro and microelements content, fruits