Abstract
Chromium (Cr) presently used in various major industries and its residues possess a potent environmental threat. Contamination of soil and water resources due to Cr ions and its toxicity has adversely affected plant growth and crop productivity. Here, deleterious effects of different levels of Cr (VI) treatments i.e., 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 μM on two mungbean cultivars, Pusa Vishal (PV) and Pusa Ratna (PR), in hydroponic and pot conditions were evaluated. Germination, seedling growth, biomass production, antioxidant enzyme, electrolytic leakage, oxidative stress (hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde), and proline content were determined to evaluate the performance of both cultivars under hydroponic conditions for 15 days. The hydroponic results were further compared with the growth and seed yield attributes of both the genotypes in pot experiments performed over 2 years. Seedling growth, biomass production, total chlorophyll (Chl), Chl-a, Chl-b, nitrogen content, plant height, seed protein, and seed yield decreased significantly under the 120 μM Cr stress level. Activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and peroxidase increased in the leaves following Cr exposure at 60–90 μM but declined at 120 μM. Cr-induced reductions in growth and seed yield attributes were more in the sensitive than in the tolerant cultivar. Cr accumulation in the roots, stems, leaves, and seeds increased with an increase in Cr concentrations in the pot conditions. Furthermore, for both cultivars, there were significant negative correlations in morpho-physiological characteristics under high Cr concentrations. Overall results suggest that (PR) is more sensitive to Cr stress (PV) at the seedling stage and in pot conditions. Furthermore, (PV) can be utilized to study the mechanisms of Cr tolerance and in breeding programs to develop Cr-resistant varieties.
Highlights
Industrial and anthropogenic activities increase heavy metal pollution in the environment and adversely affect plant growth and metabolic activity, in addition to yield (Farid et al, 2015; Rizwan et al, 2017; Wakeel et al, 2019)
The objectives of the present study were to (i) investigate the effect of Cr (VI) on the germination and seedling growth of the two mungbean cultivars based on MDA, H2O2, and proline contents, electrolyte leakage (EL), and enzyme activities under hydroponic conditions; (ii) compare the morpho-physiological and yield attribute responses of both cultivars to Cr stress and examine Cr accumulation in various parts of the mungbean cultivars under pot conditions
The results clearly indicated that Pusa Vishal (PV) morpho-physiological characteristics less declined than Pusa Ratna (PR)
Summary
Industrial and anthropogenic activities increase heavy metal pollution in the environment and adversely affect plant growth and metabolic activity, in addition to yield (Farid et al, 2015; Rizwan et al, 2017; Wakeel et al, 2019). Accumulation of heavy metals (HMs) in edible parts of plants poses major “risks to humans and animals’ health” (Anjum et al, 2016; Shen et al, 2017; Wang et al, 2017). High Cr contents in the soil get absorbed and accumulated in the above-ground parts of plants and subsequently enters the food chain, in turn directly or indirectly affecting human health (Giri and Singh, 2017). It negatively effects the plants by seizing it’s growth, enzyme activity, photosynthesis, metabolism, biomass production, and crop productivity (Anjum et al, 2017; Singh et al, 2020). Since roots are the first plant organs to be exposed to Cr contamination in the soil, they play a primary role in its accumulation and translocation (Jaison and Muthukumar, 2017; Zhao et al, 2019; Zong et al, 2020)
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