Phytotoxicity of low-weight carboxylic acids

Presence of low-weight carboxylic acids (LWCAs) can be the reason for phytotoxicity of green manures, treated bio-waste or digestates from biogas production applied to soils. As the phytotoxic concentrations of LWCA are poorly known, this work presents data on six acids (C1C6: formic, acetic, propionic, butyric, valeric, and caproic). Phytotoxicity was measured in acute (72 or 120 h) and subchronic (21 d) assays for seed germination, seedling elongation, and plant growth for garden cress Lepidium sativum and ryegrass Lolium multiflorum. The dose–response relationship was modeled using Weibull model. Results showed a trend that toxicity of LWCA increases with the length of the carbon chain, formic acid (C1) being the least and caproic acid (C6) the most toxic. EC50 values in the acute seed germination of cress ranged between 1.9 and 4.2 mM and for ryegrass between 1.8 and 6.4 mM. In subchronic assays EC50 values for germination were in a range from 11 to 46 mM kg−1 dm for cress, and from 18 to 127 mM kg−1 dm for ryegrass. EC50 values for early seedling growth of cress based on acute assays ranged from 0.7 to 2.3 mM and that of ryegrass from 1.2 to 1.8 mM. Range of EC50 values for shoot biomass of cress was between 8 and 40 mM kg−1 dm and of ryegrass between 12 and 93 mM kg−1 dm.

► Phytotoxicity data of low-weight carboxylic acids (formic C1 – carpoic C6).
► EC values for ACUTE and SUBCHRONIC toxicity.
► Phytoxicity increased with the length of the carbon chain.