Growth Inhibiting Effects of Four Antibiotics on Cucumber, Rape and Chinese Cabbage

Abstract

Application of manure resulted in high concentration of antibiotics in soil. Compared to the wide literature on the adverse effects of antibiotics on animals and human beings, the effects on plants are less investigated. In this study, we investigated the growth inhibiting effects of four antibiotics (OTC, DOX, OFL, and ENR) on cucumber, rape and Chinese cabbage using hydroponic methods. Seeds of three vegetable varieties were separately exposed to six concentrations of OTC and DOX (0, 10, 30, 50, 70 and 90 mg/L) and OFL and ENR (0, 20, 40, 80, 160 and 320 mg/L). The growth inhibiting effects of the four antibiotics on three vegetables were different. This study has shown that these antibiotics can induce potential growth inhibiting effects in the natural environment.