Hazardous environmental factors and their impact on plant vital activity and biosecurity

Vyacheslav Shebanin, Antonina Drobitko, Iryna Smirnova, Larysa Piskunova, Mykola Karpenko
Received: 15.01.2025 Revised: 14.07.2025 Accepted: 27.08.2025
Retrieved from Vol. 28, No. 8, 2025 Pages: 89-101
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Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse the impact of hazardous environmental factors on plant viability and biosecurity, as well as to develop strategies for mitigating their toxic effects. Experiments were conducted using agricultural crops, including rapeseed (Brassica napus), rice (Oryza sativa), common wheat (Triticum aestivum), potato (Solanum tuberosum), and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). The effects of heavy metals (cadmium, lead, mercury), ionising radiation, climatic extremes (high temperature, drought), and biotic pathogens (Phytophthora infestans, tobacco mosaic virus) were investigated under laboratory conditions. Quantification of metal concentrations, photosynthetic activity, stress gene expression, and pathogen prediction were performed using spectrometric, fluorometric, molecular-genetic, and machine-learning approaches. The results demonstrated that cadmium accumulated in rice grains at concentrations of up to 2.8 mg/kg, exceeding the maximum permissible levels established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization by 2.3-fold (p<0.001). The combined exposure to cadmium and elevated temperature (+35°C) resulted in a synergistic reduction in plant biomass by 75% compared to individual stress factors (p<0.01). Under radiation exposure, the activity of antioxidant enzymes, such as catalase and superoxide dismutase, increased by 150-220%; however, prolonged stress led to a 275% accumulation of malondialdehyde, a marker of oxidative damage. A machine-learning predictive model achieved 89% accuracy in identifying risk zones for the fungal pathogen Phytophthora infestans, with an area under the curve of 0.93. The practical significance of these findings lies in their applicability for environmental monitoring, the development of adaptive agro-technologies, the breeding of stress-resistant cultivars, and the implementation of biosecurity measures in agriculture

Keywords

cadmium; oxidative stress; phytotoxicity; heavy metal bioaccumulation; environment; ecosystem

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Shebanin, V., Drobitko, A., Smirnova, I. , Piskunova, L., & Karpenko, M. (2025). Hazardous environmental factors and their impact on plant vital activity and biosecurity. Scientific Horizons, 28(8), 89-101. https://doi.org/10.48077/scihor8.2025.89