Heavy metal accumulation potential in pomegranate fruits and leaves grown in roadside orchards

This study was carried out to determine the possible heavy metal accumulation in fruits and leaves of Zivzik pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) grown in two different roadside orchards located in Pirinçli and Kapılı villages of Siirt province, Turkey. Leaf and fruit samples were collected from trees located at 0, 50, 100 m distances from the main roads. Plant samples were analyzed for cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and chromium (Cr) concentrations. The Co, Ni, Cd, Pb and Cr concentrations of fruit samples collected from Pirinçli village were ranged from 0.082 to 0.238 mg kg(−1), from 1.160 to 1.559 mg kg(−1), from 0.087 to 0.179 mg kg(−1), 0.326 to 0.449 mg kg(−1) and 0.606 to 1.054 mg kg(−1), respectively. The Co, Ni, Cd, Pb and Cr concentrations of fruit samples from Kapılı village were between 0.085 and 0.137 mg kg(−1), 1.042 and 1.123 mg kg(−1), 0.037 and 0.076 mg kg(−1), 0.277 and 0.520 mg kg(−1) and 0.762 and 0.932 mg kg(−1), respectively. Heavy metal concentrations of leaf samples from Pirinçli village varied from 0.191 to 0.227 mg Co kg(−1), 2.201 to 3.547 mg Ni kg(−1), 0.051 to 0.098 mg Cd kg(−1), 0.535 to 0.749 mg Pb kg(−1) and from 1.444 to 2.017 mg Cr kg(−1). Similarly, the heavy metal concentration of leaf samples from Kapılı villages were between 0.213 and 0.217 mg Co kg(−1), 2.160 and 2.511 mg Ni kg(−1), 0.058 and 0.114 mg Cd kg(−1), 0.579 and 0.676 mg Pb kg(−1) and 1.688 and 1.518 mg Cr kg(−1). The Co, Ni and Cr concentrations in fruit samples collected from 0, 50 and 100 meters to the main road in Pirinçli village were at statistically significant level, while only Ni concentration in leaf samples collected from 0, 50 and 100 meters to the main road was at significant level. In contrast, heavy metal concentrations in fruit and leaf samples collected from 0, 50 and 100 m to the main road in Kapılı village were not statistically significant level.