EFFECT OF HEAVY-METALS ON ROOT-GROWTH OF ITALIAN MILLET (SETARIA-ITALICA L.)

The rate of retardation in root growth of young seedlings of Setaria i talica in hydroponic culture was taken as an index to measure the leve l of toxicity of copper, nickel, lead, chromium, mercury, manganese, i ron and molybdenum. The order of toxicity of different metals affectin g root growth of Italian millet was copper> nickel> molybdenum> chromi um> mercury> zinc> iron> lead> manganese. Phytotoxicity symptoms were observed in the plants grown at high concentrations of manganese, chro mium, nickel and mercury. Effective dosages (ED50) for different metal s on root growth in Setaria italica were determined.