Qian Lisheng, Dawar Khadim, Ullah Israr, Irfan Muhammad, Zhang Zhiheng, Mian Ishaq Ahmad, Khan Bushra, Gul Nida, Fahad Shah, Jalal Abdullah, Danish Subhan, Iqbal Rana Khalid, Alarfaj Abdullah A
College of Life and Health Science, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang 233100, China.
Department of Soil and Environmental Science, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Peshawar 25130, Pakistan.
ACS Omega. 2023 Aug 28;8(36):32372-32381. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c01511. eCollection 2023 Sep 12.
Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic heavy metal that significantly threatens plants and the environment. Its toxicity in plants can result in various adverse effects, including reduced growth, altered metabolism, and cell damage. Cadmium can also interfere with nutrient uptake, particularly zinc (Zn), leading to Zn deficiency and further exacerbating Cd toxicity. On the other hand, foliar application of zinc might be a useful strategy to mitigate cadmium (Cd) toxicity in plants. Hence, a pot experiment was conducted with three replications. The wheat plants were treated with various concentrations of Zn as a foliar spray (control, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.5%) in Cd-spiked soil in pots. The results showed that foliar use of Zn at 0.4 or 0.5% resulted in higher plant height, grain yield, and dry matter yield than the control group. Using Zn as foliar spray enriched shoot and grain Zn content while reducing Cd content in the shoot and grain. The leaf's electrolyte leakage (EL) decreased by 15.4, 29.8, 40.7, and 45.9% in the Zn 0.1%, Zn 0.2%, Zn 0.4%, and Zn 0.5% treatments, respectively, compared to the control treatment. Regarding superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, Zn 0.5% treatment showed a decrease of 42.9% over control. Specifically, the Zn 0.1% showed a 27.2%, Zn 0.2% showed a 56.8%, Zn 0.4% showed a 91.1%, and Zn 0.5% showed a 133.7% increase in total chlorophyll content than control. Based on the results, it is recommended that 0.4% Zn solution may be used for foliar application for enhancing crop productivity and Zn concentration in plants under high Cd stress. Additionally, continued research on the mechanisms of cadmium uptake, transport, and detoxification in plants may lead to the identification of new targets for intervention.
镉（Cd）是一种有毒重金属，对植物和环境构成重大威胁。其对植物的毒性会导致各种不利影响，包括生长减缓、代谢改变和细胞损伤。镉还会干扰养分吸收，尤其是锌（Zn），导致锌缺乏并进一步加剧镉的毒性。另一方面，叶面喷施锌可能是减轻植物镉（Cd）毒性的一种有效策略。因此，进行了一项重复三次的盆栽试验。在盆栽中添加镉的土壤中，对小麦植株进行不同浓度的锌叶面喷施处理（对照、0.1%、0.2%、0.4%和0.5%）。结果表明，喷施0.4%或0.5%的锌导致株高、籽粒产量和干物质产量高于对照组。叶面喷施锌增加了地上部和籽粒中的锌含量，同时降低了地上部和籽粒中的镉含量。与对照处理相比，锌0.1%、锌0.2%、锌0.4%和锌0.5%处理的叶片电解质渗漏率（EL）分别降低了15.4%、29.8%、40.7%和45.9%。关于超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）活性，锌0.5%处理比对照降低了42.9%。具体而言，锌0.1%处理的总叶绿素含量比对照增加了27.2%，锌0.2%处理增加了56.8%，锌0.4%处理增加了91.1%，锌0.5%处理增加了133.7%。基于这些结果，建议在高镉胁迫下，可使用0.4%的锌溶液进行叶面喷施，以提高作物产量和植物中的锌浓度。此外，对植物中镉吸收、运输和解毒机制的持续研究可能会导致确定新的干预靶点。
