Microplastics – Effects on Lentil Seed Germination and Seedling Growth Reported

The abstract of a September 2022 Chemosphere article https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.135162 by researchers with Japan Saitama University, Sri Lanka University of Ruhuna, and Japan Shibaura Institute of Technology reports that “… Widespread use of plastics and mishandling has resulted in severe environmental issues affecting seed germination and seedling growth. This study investigates the effect of polyethylene microplastics … on lentil (Lens culinaris) seed germination and seedling growth … with conventional parameters, germination viability, germination rate, root and shoot lengths, fresh and dry seedling weights, and antioxidative enzymes, no significant effect was observed until 2 d of exposure. The results revealed that the presence of PEMPs significantly reduced the internal activity at the initial stages … Our results demonstrated for the first time the effect that microplastics indeed could hinder the internal activity during germination of the seeds, possibly resulting from the physical blockage of pores leading to stunted growth at later stages …” #MicroPlastics #PlasticWaste #SingleUsePlastic #Polyethylene #SaitamaUniversity @L3F_ICT_RUH_OU @shibaura