TOXICITY OF AMMONIUM HEXAFLUOROPHOSPHATE TO SELECTED TERRESTRIAL PLANTS

Protecting the environment from negative influence of various factors, including chemical compounds, is one of the main tasks for people. In this paper, an attempt was made to evaluate the effect of ammonium hexafluorophosphate [NH4] [PF6] added at various concentrations to the soil on the growth and development of spring barley (representative of monocotyledonous plants) and common radish (representative of dicotyledonous plants). The conducted research has shown that [NH4] [PF6] causes a decrease in germination potential and seed germination rate. The inhibition of aboveground parts of plants and their roots growth was also observed, which in turn causes a decrease in the yield of the fresh weight of tested plants. At the same time, this compound causes an increase in the dry mass of plants. As an indicator of the phytotoxicity of the tested compound, the assessment of damage to all plant species was also performed, which was reflected in digital photographs taken. All observed changes are strongly dependent on the concentration of [NH4][PF6]. Studied plants accumulated fluorine and its content was higher, the higher the concentration of the compound in the soil. Spring barley turned out to be the plant more susceptible to the applied compound.