Effects of cadmium stress on fruits germination and growth of two herbage species.

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) pollution is a global environmental problem. It is of great significance to find a kind of pasture that can grow normally in a cadmium environment, especially in the Tibetan Plateau. We studied the fruit germination and fruit growth of Elymus sinsubmuticus S.L. Chen and Elymus tangutorum (Nevski), native plants of the Tibetan Plateau, in different cadmium environments. The results showed that with increased cadmium stress, the fruit germination rate, final germination rate, fruit-vigor, average germination time, and germination-speed index for the two grass species gradually decreased, and the 50% germination time for the seed gradually increased. Root length, biomass, and the number of leaves decreased in both species. We quantified the fruit germination and growth of plants in the cadmium environment and found that E. sinosubmuticus S.L. Chen had better fruit germination and fruit growth, and it had the development potential of cadmium pollution control.