Vanadium in Plant Species

In general, lower plants contain more vanadium than seed-bearing plants, and older parts contain more than younger parts (7). Despite this overall trend, some angiosperms seem to be accumulator plants (Table 21.2). In an experiment where sorghum seedlings showed noticeable harmful effects when grown in 10 mg V L^-1 in the nutrient solution, the selenium-accumulator Astragalus preussi A. Gray was not affected by 100 mg V L^-1 and accumulated vanadium in the tissues (7).

TABLE 21.2

A List of Concentrations of Vanadium in Various Plant Species

Click to view Table (Approx. 416KB) - opens a new window

Click to download a more clear image Table (Approx.1MB)

Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) and dogfennel (Eupatorium capillifolium Small) have been suggested to have potential as indicators of vanadium bioavailability (42). Since 1981, the Bavarian State Office for Environmental Protection has been analyzing samples of the moss Hypnum cupressiforme L. as indicators of emission-derived metals, including vanadium (43).

Even in crop species that are sensitive to vanadium, there are genotypes that are less affected by the element. In a study in which soybean was found to be sensitive to the V:(V⁺P) ratio, one cultivar showed very little sensitivity to either element (27). Although concentrations of 10 to 20 mg V L^-1 vanadium in nutrient solutions are generally regarded as harmful to plants, some bush bean and lettuce genotypes have been affected adversely by concentrations as low as 0.20 mg V L^-1 (18,23).