The Impact of Cadmium on Seed Germination, Seedling Growth and Antioxidant Enzymes in Pea (Pisum sativum sp.)

In the present study, a noval approach has been made to evaluate the effect of cadmium in pea in terms of germination, seedling growth, pigment development and relevant enzymes activity. Pea (Pisum sativum sp.), an important pulse crop consumed by humans, was selected as a test plant. During the present investigation pea seeds were grown in petridishes on filter paper in triplicate containing different concentration of cadmium viz., 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0 and 16.0 ppm respectively. Changes in the physiological and biochemical activities were observed. At the high cadmium concentration, germination percentage was decreased as compared to control. There was also observed considerable reduction in shoot length, root length along with the number of lateral roots. The fresh weight, dry weight and moisture content were also found reduced with higher concentration of cadmium. Declined chlorophyll contents were noticed under the influence of higher concentration of cadmium. There was marked increase in peroxidase, catalase and lipid peroxidase activity by the application of the test chemical was observed in different concentration of cadmium. The results suggest that the activities of peroxidase, catalase of pea (Pisum sativum sp.), seedlings are inhibited under cd stress affecting their growth.