Investigating the possibility of using contaminated waters for cultivation of pseudocereals

Possibility of using water contaminated with heavy metals for irrigation of quinoa, buckwheat and spelt wheat will be investigated in this project. Quinoa and buckwheat are pseudocereals, whilst spelt wheat is one of the oldest real cereals. The investigations will be performed at a location within thermal plant Nikola Tesla where ash deposit is found. Experiments with the investigated crops will be carried out under the conditions of: dry farming, irrigation with contaminated water and irrigation with water cleaned with a filter for heavy metals. Subsurface drip irrigation will be applied. Besides basic physico-chemical properties, content of heavy metals, will be determined in irrigation water (with and without filtration). Heavy metals will also be determined in soil and cultivated plants. Genotypic variations in accumulation of plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) in various quinoa varieties, subjected to the effect of heavy metals, will be investigated. Nutritive value of quinoa, buckwheat and spelt wheat seeds will be evaluated on the basis of data about content of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. Safety of obtained products will also be established. Technological characteristics of ground grains of the investigated cereals will be investigated. Main expected results of this project are development of new technology for production of pseudocereals by using contaminated waters for irrigation and obtaining of new, safe products of high nutritive value.