Agriculture & Food, Volume 10, 2022

Abstract: The research was conducted to evaluate the effect of rootstock combinations on the content of heavy metals, micro, and macronutrients in the leaves of plums. The study was conducted in Brestnik village, situated at a 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, GF677, Wavit, Ishtara and Prunus cerasifera for the content of heavy metals, micro, and macroelements in the leaves of plums. Heavy metal concentrations (Zn, Cd, and Pb) in plum orchard soils were below maximum permissible concentrations. The content of micro and macroelements in the leaves differs for each rootstock combination, depending on the cultivar. Phosphorus, potassium and calcium were within the optimum values for leaves, and iron content was below the average. The range of heavy metal and microelement concentration in plum leaves was Fe (58.0–137 mg/kg), Mn (111.7–398.9 mg/kg), Zn (17.2–33.1 mg/kg), Cu (4.3–8.0 mg/kg) and Pb (6.2– 14.7 mg/kg). Leaf Cd concentration was below the detection level. The effect of rootstocks on the accumulation of micro and macroelements (K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn and B) was significant. The results showed that the rootstocks strongly affected the leaf and fruit element uptake of plums.