Abstract
ABSTRACT The rapid expansion of nickel–cobalt–manganese (NCM) battery production has raised concerns regarding mixed‐metal contamination in agricultural ecosystems, particularly in regions lacking effective end‐of‐life battery management. Such contamination may promote uncontrolled metal release and pose phytotoxic risks during early crop establishment. Unlike single‐metal exposure, this represents a complex mixed‐metal stressor whose combined biological effects and modulation by chemical conditions remain insufficiently understood. Here, we investigated early plant responses using four widely cultivated crops—maize ( Zea mays ), wheat ( Triticum aestivum ), canola ( Brassica napus ), and Chinese cabbage ( Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis )—under non‐acidified and acid‐amended conditions. Two experimental regimes were applied: a non‐acidified gradient (0–500 mg·L −1 ) and an acid‐amended scenario simulating battery‐derived leachates (200–1000 mg·L −1 ). Across species, germination processes were relatively resilient to metal exposure, whereas post‐germination traits—including root and shoot growth, root–shoot allocation, photosynthetic pigment stability, antioxidant responses, and biomass accumulation—were more sensitive and exhibited clear inhibitory responses. Acidification transiently enhanced early performance at low stress levels but markedly amplified phytotoxic effects at higher concentrations, indicating a limited capacity for physiological adjustment under increasing exposure. Plant responses were strongly species‐specific, with wheat showing the highest tolerance, maize intermediate plasticity, and canola and Chinese cabbage greater sensitivity. Overall, phytotoxicity was chemically mediated, concentration‐dependent, and species‐specific, with root‐related traits representing critical bottlenecks for early crop performance under mixed‐metal exposure.
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Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
Germination was relatively resilient to metal exposure across the four crops.
- Taxon
- maize ( Zea mays ), wheat ( Triticum aestivum ), canola ( Brassica napus ), and Chinese cabbage ( Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis )
_Brassica_napus_-_Habit.jpg?width=60)
Brassica napus
Triticum aestivum
Zea mays
Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensise1 - Treatment
- metal exposuree0
- Outcome
- germination processese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
_Brassica_napus_-_Habit.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e0“Across species, germination processes were relatively resilient to metal exposure”
e1“maize ( Zea mays ), wheat ( Triticum aestivum ), canola ( Brassica napus ), and Chinese cabbage ( Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis )”
Claim · model-written summary
Post-germination growth, allocation, pigments, antioxidants and biomass were inhibited by metal exposure.
- Taxon
- maize ( Zea mays ), wheat ( Triticum aestivum ), canola ( Brassica napus ), and Chinese cabbage ( Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis )Brassica napusTriticum aestivumZea maysBrassica rapa subsp. pekinensise1
- Outcome
- root and shoot growth, root–shoot allocation, photosynthetic pigment stability, antioxidant responses, and biomass accumulatione0
- Direction
- inhibitorye0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“post‐germination traits—including root and shoot growth, root–shoot allocation, photosynthetic pigment stability, antioxidant responses, and biomass accumulation—were more sensitive and exhibited clear inhibitory responses”
e1“maize ( Zea mays ), wheat ( Triticum aestivum ), canola ( Brassica napus ), and Chinese cabbage ( Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis )”
Claim · model-written summary
Acidification enhanced early performance at low stress levels.
- Taxon
- maize ( Zea mays ), wheat ( Triticum aestivum ), canola ( Brassica napus ), and Chinese cabbage ( Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis )Brassica napusTriticum aestivumZea maysBrassica rapa subsp. pekinensise1
- Treatment
- Acidificatione0
- Outcome
- early performancee0
- Direction
- enhancede0
- Qualifier
- low stress levelse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Acidification transiently enhanced early performance at low stress levels”
e1“maize ( Zea mays ), wheat ( Triticum aestivum ), canola ( Brassica napus ), and Chinese cabbage ( Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis )”
Claim · model-written summary
Acidification amplified phytotoxicity at higher concentrations.
- Taxon
- maize ( Zea mays ), wheat ( Triticum aestivum ), canola ( Brassica napus ), and Chinese cabbage ( Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis )Brassica napusTriticum aestivumZea maysBrassica rapa subsp. pekinensise1
- Treatment
- Acidificatione0
- Outcome
- phytotoxic effectse0
- Direction
- amplifiede0
- Qualifier
- higher concentrationse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Acidification transiently enhanced early performance at low stress levels but markedly amplified phytotoxic effects at higher concentrations”
e1“maize ( Zea mays ), wheat ( Triticum aestivum ), canola ( Brassica napus ), and Chinese cabbage ( Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis )”
Claim · model-written summary
Wheat showed the highest tolerance.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Outcome
- tolerancee0
- Direction
- higheste0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“wheat showing the highest tolerance”
Claim · model-written summary
Maize showed intermediate plasticity.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“maize intermediate plasticity”
Claim · model-written summary
Canola and Chinese cabbage showed greater sensitivity.
- Taxon
- canola and Chinese cabbageBrassica rapa subsp. pekinensis
.jpg?width=60)
Brassica napus var. napuse0 - Outcome
- sensitivitye0
- Direction
- greatere0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e0“canola and Chinese cabbage greater sensitivity”
The same questions in other papers
ph · crop injury · Triticum aestivum (wheat)Positive and negative results
1 in the opposite direction
- positive
ph · crop injury · Brassica napus (oilseed rape)Results agree
1 paper in the same direction as this paper
- negative
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.