A study on physiological, anatomical characterization of selected carrot plant under different treatments of salts

Abstract

Carrots were first used for medical purposes and gradually used as food. It is also a good source of magnesium and manganese. Cadmium is a nonessential element that adversely affects plant growth and development. It is considered as one of the significant pollutants due to its high toxicity and more solubility in water. Experiment was conducted in Old Botanical Garden of University of Agriculture Faisalabad to check the response of carrot genotypes grown under Cadmium Chloride stress (0µM, 10µM, 15µM and 20µM). Variety of carrot (gajar) used was Red Gold. Seeds were sown in 12 pots, which were filled with sand, in 2nd week of November. Germination observed after one week of sowing. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with three replicates. Seeds of carrot (red gold) were purchased from Ayyub Agriculture Research Institute (AARI) Faisalabad and sown directly in the plastic pot. 8 seeds per pot were distributed. Hogland solution was also applied to replicates and then I applied Cadmium Chloride stress to the plants to start my experiment. Cadmium stress decreased the uptake and distribution of essential elements in plant. Studies had revealed that heavy metals cause adverse effects on plant growth, which further lead to decrease plant yield and inhibition of enzymatic activities.In the present study, plant growth characteristics, root length and shoot length decreased under Cd stress. In fact, salt stress decreased all attributes in carrot when the concentrations of Cadmium chloride increased higher and higher.