Elucidating the distinct interactive impact of cadmium and nickel on growth, photosynthesis, metal-homeostasis, and yield responses of mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) varieties

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2021-06, Vol.28 (21), p.27376-27390
• Main Authors: Aqeel, Muhammad, Khalid, Noreen, Tufail, Aasma, Ahmad, Rana Zaheer, Akhter, Muhammad Salim, Luqman, Muhammad, Javed, Muhammad Tariq, Irshad, Muhammad Kashif, Alamri, Saad, Hashem, Mohamed, Noman, Ali
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural ecosystems; Amino acids; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Beans; Cadmium; Carbon dioxide; Combinatorial analysis; Contamination; Crop yield; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Gas exchange; Heavy metals; Homeostasis; Nickel; Photosynthesis; Physiology; Plant growth; Research Article; Side effects; Soil contamination; Soil pollution; Soils; Stomata; Sugar; Toxicity; Vigna; Vigna radiata; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Water use; Water use efficiency; Weight reduction
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-12579-5

Contamination of soils with heavy metals (HMs) caused serious problems because plants tend to absorb HMs from the soil. In view of HM hazards to plants as well as agro-ecosystems, we executed this study to assess metal toxicity to mung bean ( Vigna radiata ) plants cultivated in soil with six treatment levels of cadmium (Cd) and nickel (Ni) and to find metal tolerant variety, i.e., M-93 (V 1 ) and M-1(V 2 ) with multifarious plant biochemical and physiological attributes. Increasing doses of Cd and Ni inhibited plant growth and photosynthesis and both varieties showed highly significant differences in the morpho-physiological attributes. V 2 showed sensitivity to Cd and Ni treatments alone or in combination. Tolerance indices for attributes presented a declined growth of Vigna plants under HM stress accompanied by highly significant suppression in gas exchange characteristics. Of single element applications, the adverse effects on mung bean were more pronounced in Cd treatments. V 1 showed much reduction in photosynthesis attributes except sub-stomatal CO 2 concentration in all treatments compared to V 2 . The yield attributes, i.e., seed yield/plant and 100-seed weight, were progressively reduced in T 5 for both varieties. In combination, we have observed increased mobility of Cd and Ni in both varieties. The results showed that water use efficiency (WUE) generally increased in all the treatments for both varieties compared to control. V 2 exhibited less soluble sugars and free amino acids compared to V 1 in all the treatments. Similarly, we recorded an enhanced total free amino acid contents in both varieties among all the metal treatments against control plants. We conclude that combinatorial treatment proved much lethal for Vigna plants, but V 1 performed better than V 2 in counteracting the adverse effects of Cd and Ni.