Effects of Cadmium on Seed Germination and Early Seedlings Growth of Triticum Aestivum L.

Effects of different levels of cadmium pollution(0,10,20,40,60 mg/L) on seed germination and early seedlings growth of Triticum aestivum L.were studied by indoor petri dish germination culture method.The results showed that in early stage of germination,Cd stress had no significant effects on seed germination.However,amylase activities markedly decreased with the increase of Cd level(P0.05).The effect of Cd on wheat mainly occurred in early growth stage of the geminated seedlings after radical and germ was out of the seed capsule,the accumulation of MDA increased with Cd level(P0.05),indicating that Cd stress intensified the lipid peroxidation in wheat seedlings.Furthermore,chlorophyll content in leaves of wheat seedlings was raised by 10 mg/L Cd,while decreased when Cd level was higher than 40 mg/L(P0.05).Moreover,with the increase of Cd level,seedlings growth of wheat were inhibited by Cd stress especially above 40 mg/L(P0.05),judging from the decrease in root length,shoot height and dry weight.