Abstract:
Chromium toxicity is considered when Chromium content has surpassed the safe soil
level. Normally chromium has been released to the environment by volcanic activities.
However, as the Industrial Revolution arose, utilization of Chromium in the form of
pesticides and weedicides were increased. In addition, due to poor waste management
practices, it has accumulated everywhere and ended up in plants. In terms of plants,
chromium toxicity leads to some aspects such as accumulation in plant tissues, affecting
biomass, germination, chlorophyll content, enzyme activity, and root and shoot growth
negatively. It has been revealed that the use of salicylic acid can significantly reduce
the effects of chromium toxicity in plants. Salicylic Acid is a well-known endogenous
plant hormone due to its versatility in various crop plants including perishables and
pulses. The present study was carried out to select the most effective salicylic acid
concentration and observe the alleviation of Chromium toxicity in different levels (0
mg/Kg, 100 mg/Kg, 125 mg/Kg, 150 mg/Kg) at the reproductive stage of MI 5 green
gram variety. The experiment was conducted under a complete randomized block
design and effective salicylic acid concentration (0.5 mM) was selected by a
germination test. Prepared 24 garden bags were contaminated with Chromium at 0
mg/Kg, 100 mg/Kg, 125 mg/Kg, and 150 mg/Kg for 5 days before planting and salicylic
acid was applied as a soil drench 14 days after planting (DAP). 43 days after planting,
data were collected for plant height, chlorophyll content, no. of leaves, leaf area, fresh
weight, dry weight, and root length as parameters. It was found that adverse effects from
Cr stress were successfully alleviated in no. of leaves, dry weight, and root length of the
plant by showing increase of parameters by 4.88%, 0.25%, and 2.07% percentages
respectively. For the height and fresh weight of the plant, Cr stress didn’t show a
significant effect but SA did. Chlorophyll a, total chlorophyll content, and leaf area
show considerable adverse effects from Cr stress but SA did not show alleviation action.
Moreover, neither SA treatment nor Cr stress had a discernible impact on chlorophyll b
level in the MI 5 cultivar.
