Morphological, Biochemical and Quality Control Analysis of Peas Genotypes under Cadmium Toxicity at the Seedling Stage

Cadmium toxicity is an emerging problem as it is the most abundant heavy metal in Pakistani soils. Peas are being grown near cities where an elevated level of cadmium persists. So, this study was conducted for the evaluation of 10 peas genotypes (TRIPLET, MID No. 2, Oskar, LM (OSE), METEOR, P-1, Rohina, PEA-09, LM-POIS, and LAMPO) under cadmium stress at the seedling stage in the greenhouse of Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. There were 3 treatments of cadmium (0, 4, and 8 mg/kg soil) and each treatment was replicated five times in a completely randomized design. Different morphological traits i.e., fresh root weight, fresh seedling weight, root length, seedling length, dry root weight, dry seedling weight and biochemical traits i.e., Cd in the root, shoot, and soil were recorded by atomic absorption spectrometry. Generally, T1 reduced root and shoot parameters while 8 ppm Cd application comparatively enhanced the growth of peas genotypes. LM-POIS and LM (OSE) genotypes performed well under Cd stress and LM-POIS had also an elevated level of Cd in the shoot on the other hand TRIPLET and LAMPO were the least performing genotypes. It is suggested that Cd contamination significantly reduces pea growth; therefore, Cd-tolerant-peas genotypes should be developed or introduced. Further, Cd exposure in the soil should be minimized and already Cd-polluted soils should be remediated.