Effect Of Copper And Cadmium On Germination And Anatomical Structure Of Leaf And Root Seedling In Maize (Zea mays L)

The aim of this work was to study the effect of copper (Cu) and/or cadmium (Cd) on grain germination and anatomical structure of Maize (Zea mays cv. Giza 2) seedling. The results indicated that Cu and/or Cd caused reduced the grain germination indices (FGP final germination percentage, MDG mean daily germination, GI germination index and CVG coefficient of velocity of germination), root anatomical traits as root diameter, central cylinder diameter, cortex thickness, cross section area of root and cross section area of central cylinder and leaf structures traits as thickness of midrib, upper epidermis and parenchyma and vascular bundle, in contrast they increased mean germination time MGT. The most inhibitory effect on grain germination indices and root anatomical traits was seen in Cd (150 μmol/L), but the highest increase in MGT was seen in a combination between Cu and Cd. The combination between Cu and Cd leads to a reduction in Cd toxicity when compared with the same concentration in Cd alone. It can concluded that both Cu and Cd either each alone or combined are toxic on maize, Cd is more toxic than Cu and the combination of Cu with Cd decreased its toxicity.