Toxicity of biofertilizers on seeds of lettuce and maize

Abstract

This study evaluated the toxicity of biofertilizers using lettuce seed as bioindicator and maize as cropped plant. The experiment was carried out with five treatments consisting of biofertilizers and manure obtained from mixtures of cattle and ovine litter: T1 - 100% cattle manure; T2 - 50% cattle manure and 50% ovine litter;        T3 - 75% cattle manure and 25%  ovine litter; T4 - 75%  ovine litter and cattle 25%; T5 - 100%  ovine litter and T0 control - distilled water. Five concentrations of each treatment were used with 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15% in three replications submitted to biological testing. The use of biofertilizers with high EC negatively influences lettuce seed germination, the shoots of seedlings when diluted act as a stimulant. The biofertilizer did not affect the maize seeds germination and the seedlings growth was stimulated.