The Effect of Cd, Zn and Fe on Seed Germination and Early Seedling Growth of Wheat and Bean

Abstract

El Rasafi T., Nouri M., Bouda S., Haddioui A.: The effect of Cd, Zn and Fe on seed germination and early seedling growth of wheat and bean. Ekológia (Bratislava), Vol. 35, No. 3, p. 213-223, 2016. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of metals on wheat and bean species. The method uses seed germination and early seedling growth of these plants in the presence of various levels (10, 50, 100, 250, 500, 750 and 1000 mg/L) of Cadmium (Cd), Iron (Fe) and Zinc (Zn). The inhibition caused by these metals was depending on the concentration used, the metal itself and the plant species. The species had reduced seed germination, root and shoot lengths, tolerance index and percentphyto-toxicity with increasing concentrations of metals. Cadmium was determined to be the most inhibitory metal on these parameters. This metal affected significantly the germination, root and shoot length of the species tested, as well as the tolerance index and percentphytotoxicity starting from 50 mg Cd/l. Under the Iron stress, in general, the inhibition of germination and root length of wheat was reduced from 500 mg Fe/l. The results showed also that the inhibitory effect of increase of Zn levels was seen in root, shoot and tolerance indices. The findings also revealed that the metal toxicity was as follow: Cd > Fe > Zn. Regarding species, the results showed that bean seemed to be more tolerant to the increase of the three metals than wheat.

Cadmium toxicity on seed germination and initial growth of chia

“…Among the seedling abnormalities observed for the highest concentrations used (60 mg L -1 ), atrophy or the absence of a primary root were notable, as well as roots darkened at the apices and a thin, weak, and contorted primary root (Figure 2). Similar results were obtained by El Rasafi et al (2016) for bean seeds exposed to 10 to 1000 mg L -1 of Cd. The authors verified that this metal significantly affected seed germination starting at 50 mg L -1 .…”

“…The main symptoms of toxicity are the following: inhibition of seed germination; disturbance of plant metabolic activities; reduction in the root system and stem; changes in the structure of chloroplasts; inhibition of photosynthesis; reduction of plant biomass; lipid peroxidation; decrease in respiration rate and growth; inhibition of the action of enzymes; reduction in cell division; and interference in cellular membrane permeability, which reduces the ability to absorb and transport water and essential elements (e.g., Ca, Mg and K) inside the plant, reducing tolerance to stress (Kabata-Pendias, 2010;Rahoui, Chaoui, & El Ferjani, 2010;Gill, Hasanuzzaman, Nahar, Macovei, & Tuteja, 2013;Chen et al, 2014). Studies of plant development under different Cd contamination levels have been conducted with the common bean (Santos, Fagan, Teixeira, Soares, Reis, & Corrêia, 2013), Jatropha curcas (Chaves & Souza, 2014), wheat (Ahmad, Akhtar, Zahir, & Jamil, 2012;Guilherme, Oliveira, & Silva, 2015), leaf mustard -Brassica juncea (Augusto et al, 2014;Alfiya & Dheera, 2015), crambe (Hu et al, 2015), Brachiaria brizantha and B. decumbens (Borges, D'avila, Campos, Coelho, Miquelluti, & Galvan, 2016), wheat and beans (El Rasafi, Nouri, Bouda, & Haddioui, 2016), chickpeas (Ahmad, Abdel-Latef, Abd-Allah, Hashem, Sarwat, Anjum, & Gucel, 2016), and basil -Ocimum basilicum - (Gharebaghi, Haghighi, & Arouiee, 2017), among others. However, no studies were found that evaluated the toxic effects of Cd on the seed germination of chia.…”

Acute Lethal Toxicity of Heavy Metals to the Seeds of Plants of High Importance to Humans

“…A 20% reduction in germination capacity was observed in this species at very high metal concentrations, from 200 to 350 mg/L (Ni) to as much as 500–750 mg/L (Zn). The effect of heavy metals on germination is due to the fact that they impede water penetration into seeds, which results in a low swelling rate and, in consequence, a lower rate and degree of germination (compared to the control) (Rasafi et al 2016 ). A delayed germination of seeds subjected to higher concentrations of metals as compared to the control was also observed in the current study.…”

The effect of the selected remediation medium on the cadmium bioavailability in the selected ecosystem in the Southwestern locality of Slovakia

“…At present, the ecological health quality is also affected by anthropogenic activities (Šimanský, 2015;Fazekaš et al, 2018). Growing of healthy foods is a priority for ecological awareness (El Rasafi et al, 2016). We still have to deal with increased and accessible forms of risk elements.…”