Farnoosh Zargari  , Hasan Hekmat Shoar  , 
    Effects of Various Levels of Cement Dust on Seed Germination and Early Seedling Growth in 2 Cultivars of<I> Helianthus annuus </I>L.,
    Research Journal of Biological Sciences,
    Volume 3,Issue 10,
    2008,
    Pages 1189-1193,
    ISSN 1815-8846,
    rjbsci.2008.1189.1193,
    (https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=rjbsci.2008.1189.1193)
    Abstract: In this study, the effects of cement dust-provided from cement factory complex of Soofian located in 30 Km north of Tabriz-Iran-on seed germination and early seedling growth including root, hypocotyl elongation and number of lateral roots in seedlings of 2 cultivars of <I>Helianthus annuus </I>L. Armavirusky and Eroflor-have been investigated. The seeds were exposed to 0, 0.42, 0.84, 1.26 and 1.68, 7 (g L <SUP>1</SUP>) of cement dust solutions on based of ISTA rules for 7 days. The obtained results showed that cement dust didn’t effect significantly on seed germination, root elongation and number of lateral roots in both cultivars compared to control group (p&gt;0.01) but hypocotyl length with increasing concentration of cement dust solution showed a significantly decrease in both cultivars (p&lt;0.01) compared control group seedlings. Hypocotyl growth was a more sensitive endpoint than root growth and number of lateral roots. There was no significant difference in seedling growth between 2 cultivars in similar treatments but it was significant in treatment of 7 g L <SUP>1</SUP> of cement solution in germination percent between these cultivars (p&lt;0.01).
    Keywords: Cement dust;heavy metals;seed germination;seedling growth;Sunflower