ThroughapotculturelanthanumnitratewasappliedtomaizeseedlingsgrowninaredloamysoiltoinvestigatethephysiologicalandtoxiceffectsofaddedLaonthegrowthofcropseedlingsandLabioaccumulationtohelpunderstandtheenvironmentalchemistrybehaviorsofrareearthelementasfertilizersinsoils.Comparedtothecontrol,LaconcentrationsinshootsandespeciallyinrootsofmaizeseedlingsincreasedwithanincreaseofLainthesoil.Also,withaddedconcentrationsofLa≥0.75gLakg-1soiland≥0.05gLakg-1soil,thedryweightofshootsandrootsofmaizeseedlingswassignificantlyreduced(P≤0.05),respectively,comparedwiththecontrol.Additionally,La≥0.5gkg-1inthesoilsignificantlyinhibited(P≤0.05)primaryrootelongation.RootsweremoresensitivetoLastressthanshootsandthuscouldbeusedasabiomarkertoLastress.Overall,intheredloamysoilstudied,LahadnosignificantbeneficialeffectsonthegrowthofmaizeattheaddedLalevelsabove0.1gkg-1soil.
