HSOA Journal of Plant Science: Current Research Research Performance of Wheat Genotypes under Cadmium Contamination of Soil

pot having 375g of soil using the electric balance. Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was used with four replications at different levels of cadmium concentrations (control, 5 ppm, 10 ppm, 15 ppm, 20 ppm, and 25 ppm). Parameters recorded in this study were germination percentage, plant height, fresh shoot weight, and dry shoot weight and cadmium contents in shoot. Germination percentage was taken after 30 days of sowing by dividing total number of seedling emerged over the Abstract In order to evaluate different wheat genotypes against cadmium contamination of soil, an experiment was carried out in the department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Pir Mehr Ali Shah-Arid Agri- culture University Rawalpindi. The experiment was carried out under the control conditions. The experiment was laid out by using two factorial Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with six treatments and four replications. The treatments included six cadmium concen- trations of cadmium in soil i.e., (control treatment, 5 ppm, 10 ppm, 15 ppm, 20 ppm and 25 ppm). Parameters studied were germination % age, plant height (cm), fresh shoot weight (g), dry shoot weight (g) and cadmium contents in shoot. The results showed the accumula- tion of cadmium in shoot of different wheat genotypes as compared to control treatment. Cadmium depicted the great variation as com- pared to control in different parameters studied.

. As its amount increases inside the soil, it will affect the overall crop production. Its addition in soil is due to water which is coming from our industries, metal mining, supply of fertilizer, and exploitation of pest control chemicals, seepage and dirt [3]. Cadmium pollutes the environment as well as it accumulates in grain of different crops and when man eats that food it causes different health problems more obvious are kidney, lungs and stomach problems. Cd has no significance for the functioning of crop plant but is much harmful to all the organisms in soil [4]. Maximum uptake of cadmium in wheat might be related to potash deficiency [5,6]. High mobility of this metal in soil-plant system allows its easy entry into the food chain where it may provoke both human diseases [7] and known toxic effects on animals, microorganisms and plants. Increasing international concern about the risks associated with long-term consumption of crops contaminated with Cd has led the international food standards organization, Codex Alimentarius commission, to propose a 0.1mg Cd.kg -1 dry weight limit for cereals, pulses and legumes [8]. As this criterion may put under pressure the market of some agricultural products, several strategies have been proposed for the successful management of the Cd-contaminated agricultural soils. One approach is aiming to screen and use low Cd-accumulating genotypes of crops, known to accumulate unacceptable high Cd levels in grain [9]. The second approach recommends profitable use of both non-food crops and cereals for seed production [10,11]. The third option is metal phytoextraction, based on the natural or "induced" ability of plants Cd phytoextraction 70 to uptake metals (and organics) from soil and to concentrate them in the harvestable parts [12,13]. Movement of Cd from roots to shoots is a critical point for Cd phytoextraction. To be able to reach xylem vessels, metal uptake is taking place at the younger parts of the root, where Casparian strips are not well developed [14]. The absorbed metals are unloaded from the xylem parenchyma into mature xylem vessels, but this process is not well understood [15]. There is some evidence for elevated loading rates for some metals in hyper accumulator plants: Zn in Thlaspi caerulescens [16] and Ni in Alyssum lesbiacum [15], but no information is available for Cd. Regarding the significance of cadmium on plant fate and its crucial effect on the health of humans, the present study was designed with the objective to sort out different wheat genotypes which can be utilized to reduce cadmium contamination of soil.

Materials and Methods
The experimental material consisted of 20 wheat genotypes. These genotypes were obtained from Plant Genetic Resources Institute (PGRI), National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), and Islamabad. Sowing was done in the research area of Pir Mehr Ali Shah-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, during October, 2011. These genotypes were sown in small pots, each pot having 375g of soil using the electric balance. Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was used with four replications at different levels of cadmium concentrations (control, 5 ppm, 10 ppm, 15 ppm, 20 ppm, and 25 ppm). Parameters recorded in this study were germination percentage, plant height, fresh shoot weight, and dry shoot weight and cadmium contents in shoot. Germination percentage was taken after 30 days of sowing by dividing total number of seedling emerged over the total number of seeds sown. Plant height was calculated in centimeters from base to top where spike emergence took place. For fresh shoot weight, plants were separated from the soil washed with water and shoot was cleaned with the help of tissue to avoid moisture and then shoot was weighed by using digital balancer to avoid the dryness of shoots. Dry shoot weight was taken by placing the shoots in oven for three days at 70ºC, after that shoots were taken off from oven and placed into desiccator to avoid moisture for further analysis. Cadmium in shoots was recorded by using the atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Model GBC-932 Plus). About 0.5 g of plant ground material was taken into digestion tube and 4.4 ml of digestion blend was added to each tube. Digestion was done at 350°C for 2 hours. After this, all solution became color less and remaining solid turned into white color. First, there was no color change, so solution was further heated for 1 hour to change the color. Based on the data recorded, three promising wheat genotypes were selected which were further used in the second experiment.

Statistical analysis
Data were subjected to ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) technique and means were compared by LSD test following [17].

Germination percentage
The results of germination percentage are shown in table 1. The maximum germination was found at treatment T 3, 98% followed by 97% at treatment T 4 . Minimum germination was found in treatment T 5 which was 87%. Our findings depicted the variable amount of germination percentage at different cadmium levels. This might be due to genotypic or geographic differences such as control showing more germination as compared to treatment T 5 but the control showing less germination as compared to T 2 , T 3 and T 4, respectively. Variation in seed germination of different cultivars against Cd stress might have been due to presence of genetic diversity in the cultivars used in the study. Such kind of response has also been reported by Zhang et al., [18]. The findings of present study revealed that 20 ppm must be the maximum limit for Cd but treatment T 4 (97%) showed that there was less effect of Cd due to variation in genotypes. Due to genetic and environmental variations some genotypes performed best and others performed not well as compared to control T 0.

Effect of cadmium on fresh, shoot weight
Shoot fresh weight data is shown in table 2. There was a difference among the genotypes and treatment means studied. Among different genotypes, maximum fresh shoot weight was found in genotype (018702) 0.2113 followed by (018702) [20] in their study on beans found that if Cadmium content is increased 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 g Kg -1 it resulted in a decrease in total weight and shoot fresh weight of young seedlings. Khadijeh et al., [21] also reported that if we increase the cadmium level it would ultimately reduce the fresh shoot weight of seedlings. Presence of cadmium activity can lead to reduction in yield ultimately.

Effect of cadmium on fresh, shoot weight
Shoot fresh weight data is shown in table 2. There was a difference among the genotypes and treatment means studied. Among different genotypes, maximum fresh shoot weight was found in genotype (018702) 0.2113 followed by (018702) 0.21g, (018691) 0.197g and 018681 (0.197), respectively. Minimum fresh shoot weight was observed in genotype (018683) 0.145 g, (018688) 0.1472 and (018675) 0.1475 g, respectively. Maximum fresh shoot weight was found at treatment T 1 (0.193). Minimum fresh shoot weight was recorded in T 5 (0.156). Mean fresh shoot weight in genotypes under Cd treatment decreased 44.7% in comparison with control. Treatment means are shown in figure 2. Bhardwaj et al., [20] in their study on beans found that if Cadmium content is increased 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 g kg -1 it resulted in a decrease in total weight and shoot fresh weight of young seedlings. Khadijeh et al., [21] also reported that if we increase the cadmium level it would ultimately reduce the fresh shoot weight of seedlings. Presence of cadmium activity can lead to reduction in yield ultimately.

Effect of cadmium on dry shoot weight
The calculated means regarding dry shoot weight observed are presented in table 2. The data revealed that there was a significant difference among the genotypic means studied. The maximum dry shoot weight was found by the genotype (018681) 0.0372g closely followed by (018683) 0.0366g, (018677) 0.0340g and (018680) 0.0339g, respectively. 0. Minimum dry shoot weight was observed in genotype V20 (018703) 0271g followed by genotype (018692) 0.0274g and (018688) 0.0276g, respectively. Treatment means are elaborated in figure 3. Maximum dry shoot weight was found at treatment T1 (0.036). Minimum dry shoot weight was recorded at treatment T4 (0.029). Khadijeh et al., [21] reported that dry shoot weight is decreased with the increase in cadmium concentrations.

Cadmium content in shoot
Data regarding cadmium content in shoot is presented in table 2. It revealed that interaction between the genotypes and treatment was highly significant. However, a difference was found in means of all the genotypes used in the study. Three genotypes were screened against the cadmium contamination of soil. Treatment means are shown in figure 4. Maximum cadmium uptake was found in wheat genotype (018675) 5.67 mg kg -1 and (018681) 5.52 mg kg -1 . Minimum cadmium uptake was recorded in genotype (018674) with the mean of (4.14 mg kg -1 ) followed by genotype (018680) with the mean of 4.24 mg kg -1 and genotype (018676) with the mean of (4.73 mg kg -1 ). Maximum cadmium uptake was recorded at treatment T 5 (10.7 mg kg -1 ) followed by treatment T 4 (8.37 mg kg -1 ). Minimum cadmium uptake was recorded at treatment T 1 control (0.00) followed by T 2 (2.27 mg kg -1 ). Brookes PC [22] described that as we increase the amount of cadmium, plants showed more cadmium uptake.

Conclusion
The present study indicated that different plant traits performed different in different concentration of Cadmium content. Maximum    cadmium uptake was found in wheat genotype (018675) 5.67 mg kg-1 and (018681) 5.52 mg kg-1 and minimum cadmium uptake was recorded in genotype (018674) with the mean of (4.14 mg kg-1). The maximum dry shoot weight was shown by the genotype (018681) 0.0372g and minimum dry shoot weight was observed in genotype (018703) 0.0271g. Maximum fresh shoot weight was found in genotype (018702) 0.2113 g and minimum fresh shoot weight was observed in genotype (018683) 0.145 g. Maximum plant height (cm) was observed in genotype (018674) 15.767 cm and minimum plant height (cm) was seen in genotype (018688) 11.350 cm. It is concluded that promising genotypes that performed best in the presence of cadmium content can be used for further breeding program.