Mercury, manganese interaction studies on barley: Germination and phototoxicity

Experiments were performed to study the interaction of mercury-manganese on Barley. The concentrations of mercury and manganese used in the study were 1,10,100 and 1000 mgl⁻¹ and various combinations thereof. Germination, percentage, per cent phytotoxicity, root-shoot length, fresh and dry weight of seven day old barley seedlings were determined. After treatment it was seen that mercury was the toxic substance and inhibition occured according to increase in concentrations while manganese was toxic at higher concentrations. In combination manganese upto certain extent reduced the toxicity of mercury but at higher concentrations the toxicity in combination was much more than that of the individual element alone.