Effectiveness of Zn Application to Minimize CD Accumulation in Wheat

Cadmium is a highly toxic heavy metal for both plants and animals. The presence of cadmium in soil is of great concern regarding its entry into food chain. Wheat is a staple food in many parts of the world including Pakistan. It accumulates more Cd as compared to other cereal crops. A number of approaches are being used to minimize Cd accumulation in edible plant parts. Proper plant nutrition is one of the good strategies to minimize damaging effects of cadmium on plants and to decrease its accumulation in edible plant parts. A pot experiment was conducted on wheat in a soil contaminated with Cd @ 30 mg kg-1. Zinc was applied using two different application methods i.e., soil applications (Zn @ 15 & 30 mg kg-1) and foliar applications (0.3 & 0.6% ZnSO4 solution) compared to control (without Zn but Cd). Results indicated that foliar application of 0.3% ZnSO4 solution increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes (catalase, ascorbat peroxidase and guiacol peroxidase) and effectively decreased grain-Cd concentration. Zinc application through both the methods increased the shoot and grain Zn, P and K concentrations as compared to control.