DETAILING THE METHOD OF PHYTOTESTING POLLUTED SOILS BY THE VULNERABILITY OF APICAL MERISTEMS

The paper presents options for qualitative modifications of the apical parts of phytoindicators in response to specific and non-specific stress caused by an increased content of a single toxic element in a soil-water solution or a group of pollutants in typical proportions for anthropogenic pollution. The experiment is considered as a special case of the root test. The revealed characteristic transformations of calyptrogen, dermatocaliprogen, dermatogen, periblem, pleroma, columella, rhizoderm, cell differentiation of the central cylinder, and asymmetry of root sheath formation are associated with high concentrations (more than 3 MPC) of Ni, Cu, Co, Cd, Hg, Pb and values in the metallurgical impact zone for Mn, Fe, Zn. The methodological technique may be in demand in field and laboratory diagnostics of the level of phytotoxicity of soils for agricultural and(or) economic and technospheric purposes. The growth point of the lower end motor, being the primary barrier in contact of the plant organism with the substrate, not only reacts differentially to specific environmental conditions, but also forms a cascade of structural transformations that affect the entire architectonics of the indicator plant.