Department of Biosciences, Mabarshi Dayanand University, Rohtak-124 001.
* To whom all correspondence should be made.
Presence of 0.1 to 2.0 mM cadmium in 1/2 strength Hoagland's solution caused slight delay in the germination of Brassica seeds and seedling growth in terms of root/shoot elongation and root dry matter accumulation. Organic nitrogen of roots and shoots and pigment contents of leaves also decreased. The effect of cadmium was more pronounced on root growth than shoot growth. However, a slight increase in soluble protein level was observed at 0.1 and 2.0 mM cadmium. Leaf nitrate reductase activity was also inhibited, which further increased on increasing Cd concentration. When nitrate was also included in the nutrient solution, most of the parameters examined increased slightly and the inhibitory effect of Cd was alleviated to some extent especially at lower concentration of metal. It also appears that Brassica root growth can be taken as an indicator of Cd pollution in soil.
