effect of trichoderma harzianum on wheat (triticum aestivum l.) grain yield under different levels of cadmium nitrate

a pot experiment was designed to evaluate the effect of trichoderma spp. on yield and yield components of wheat (cv. n81) under different levels of cadmium nitrate. experiment was arranged in factorial based on completely randomized design with three replicates. trichoderma harzianum at two levels (with and without inoculation) and four levels of cadmium nitrate (0, 50, 100, 150 mg l-1) were the treatment. results of anova and mean comparisons showed that inoculation of trichoderma increased biological yield (46%) and straw yield (30%) as compared to control. cadmium pollution has led to significant decrease in harvest index, grain number per spike and partitioning coefficient up to 5, 20, 24 and 38 percent compared to control, respectively. furthermore, cadmium and fungus interaction were significant in terms of spike number, grain weight per spike, grain yield and tolerance index. maximum grain yield and tolerance index were recorded in trichoderma inoculation under cadmium-free plots which nearly increased 65 and 53 percent, respectively. in conclusion, using trichoderma under cadmium pollution could improve wheat growth, yield and tolerance index