Abstract

Effect of cadmium on the growth of tomato

*Rehman F, Khan FA, Varshney D, Naushin F, Rastogi J

The present experiment was conducted to test the effect of cadmium (Cd) on the vegetative and reproductive growth of Lycopersicon esculentum cv. Navodaya (tomato). The selected plant species was treated 4 times with 10, 20, 30 and 40 µg cadmium. The plant was treated twice at pre-flowering stage at 10 days interval and twice at post-flowering stage. Almost all selected growth parameters were sensitive to all or at least high doses of Cd. In the present study, the total chlorophyll content increased in the plants treated with Cd. The plant biomass decreased significantly on treatment with higher doses of Cd. The leaf number and leaf area was negatively correlated with the concentration of cadmium.