[15a-A405-1~8] 3.3 Biomedical optics (formerly 3.4)

▲ [15a-A405-3] Optical inspection of the combined effect of polyethylene microplastic with Zn on lentil seed germination using Biospeckle Optical Coherence Tomography

〇(D)sanath De silva^1,2, Uma Maheswari Rajagopalan³, Hirofumi Kadono¹ (1.Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama Univ., Japan, 2.Dept. of Mechanical and Manufacturing, Univ. of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka, 3.Dept. Mech, Eng. Faculty of Engineering. Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan)

Keywords:Lentil Seed Germination, Biospeckle Optical Coherence Tomography (bOCT), Polyethylene Microplastics and Zinc

The effect of microplastics on plant growth and seed germination is getting worldwide attention due to widespread usage, mismanagement, and having an unrevealed impact. Several studies reported the adverse effect of MPs on seed germination and plant growth. The heavy metal accumulation on farmlands has also been enhanced at an alarming rate owing to mismanagement and widespread usage of chemical fertilizer, organic fertilizer, and pesticides with high contents of heavy metals. Moreover, animal manure is being deployed for farmland as a fertilizer resulting in a significant increase in heavy metal accumulation, particularly Zn and Cu. Hence, there is a high possibility of interacting MPs and heavy metals inducing a synergic effect on seed germination and seedling growth. Therefore, in this study, the combined effect of polystyrene microplastics (PSMPs) and Zn on lentil (Lens culinaris) seed germination and seedling growth was monitored using Biospeckle Optical Coherence Tomography (bOCT), introduced by our team. bOCT is a non-contact, non-destructive, in vivo monitoring technique to visualize the change of internal activity of a biological object.