Nickel stress on Cymbopogon flexuosus var. Krishna KR8 in response to morphology, pigment content and essential oil quality

Nickel (Ni) is the 22^nd most abundant element in the earth's crust. It is a vital micronutrient for plant growth as it is essential for nitrogen metabolism. It becomes toxic when the concentration is high in the soil and plants. However, the efficiency of tolerance depends on the plant species. The present pot culture study aims at the morphological, biochemical and essential oil characterization of Cymbopogon flexuosus var. Krishna KR8 response to different nickel (Ni) concentrations i.e., 25, 50, 100 and 200 mg kg^-1 respectively. The experiments were carried out to characterize the effects of toxic The level of oil content in C. flexuosus oil was increased by 28% by the application of Ni. The shoot length and number of tillers were significantly decreased by the application of Ni. These outcomes propose that the growing C. flexuosus var. Krishna KR8 Ni-contaminated soils could be an alternate perspective of phytoremediation technology with a aim towards harnessing essential oil.