Effects of intercropping with two species on the growth and cadmium accumulation of seedlings.

The contamination of orchard by cadmium (Cd) has recently increased in severity. To decrease the Cd content in fruit tree, a pot-based experiment was conducted to study the effects of intercropping with two species ( and ) on the growth and Cd accumulation of seedlings. The data revealed that intercropping with two species significantly increased the biomass, photosynthetic pigment contents, antioxidant enzyme activities, and soluble protein contents of seedlings under Cd stress condition. The intercropping significantly decreased the Cd content in seedlings. However, the intercropping significantly decreased the and biomasses, while increased the Cd content and accumulation in the roots and shoots of two species, and the Cd uptake by was lower than that of . Therefore, intercropping with these two species, especially , may promote the growth and decrease the Cd content in .