RESPONSE OF TOMATO (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) SEEDLINGS TO CADMIUM STRESS WITH PHYSIOLOGICAL AND OXIDATIVE PARAMETERS

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) is a kind of heavy metal and one of the hazardous abiotic stress factors for whole agricultural areas. In this study, it was aimed to study the effect of cadmium treatments on the growth and development of tomato seedlings (Lycopersicon esculentum, Mill. cv Astona). For this purpose the seedlings were grown for 15 days in nutrient solution was studied with five Cd levels (0, 5, 25, 50 and 100 μM) under controlled environmental conditions. The following parameters were determined: dry matter, pigment concentration, antioxidative enzymes, lipid peroxidation and soluble protein. The results indicate that the shoot and root growth on all Cd concentrations was reduced. Among the Cd treatments, 25 μM Cd-treated plants showed higher values for many parameters and 5 μM Cd-treated plants were less affected by toxicity. The results indicate that high Cd levels cause oxidative stress, as expressed by the increase of lipid peroxidation products, ascorbic acid (AsA), sulphydryl (SH) groups and protein amount compared to controls.