HEAVY METALS IN THE SOIL OF POTENTIAL TOBACCO PRODUCTION LOCATIONS IN VRANJE VALLEY

Abstract

Before the change of the ownership of the Vranje Tobacco Industry, there had been a large scale tobacco production in the valley of Vranje. The number of tobacco growing households has declined significantly over the last 15 years, despite the good potential of agricultural land for growing this crop. Given the fact that the quality of tobacco depends on the conditions under which it is grown, above all on the soil quality, it is very important to be familiar with the soil composition and the presence of potential pollutants in soil, as well as the mechanisms of their transmission to the plant. Pollutants in agricultural land originate from natural and anthropogenic sources. Significant anthropogenic sources of soil pollutants are agricultural production (organic fertilizers, pesticides, etc.) and road transport. When it comes to tobacco quality, one of the most important groups of pollutants is heavy metals. Mineral and organic fertilizers, as well as pesticides often contain heavy metals. Considering the above facts, the aim of this paper was to determine and analyze the concentration of heavy metals such as Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Zn and Ni in the soil of the villages Neradovac, Ćukovac and Surdul, which are considered as potential sites for tobacco production. The surveys covered two periods, 2005 and 2018 (the analysis of soil) and 2005 (the analysis of tobacco). A comparative analysis of the results showed that the concentrations of heavy metals at the examined locations in soil and tobacco sampled in 2005, as well as the concentrations of heavy metals in soil sampled in 2018, were below the maximum allowable and remediation values. Because the remediation values of pollutants and hazardous substances in the soil are the values, which, if exceeded degrade the level of safety, it can be concluded that these values were not exceeded in either of the analyzed samples and that the soils were potentially safe to use with the additional tests and the necessary limitations in operating mode. Also, the chemical composition of the soil in these areas indicated that the values of the tested parameters were within the optimal values for the growth and development of plants without a negative impact, which again confirms the assumption that these localities are suitable for tobacco production.