The efficacy of banana compost as biofertilizer on barley (Hordeum vulgare) plants grown on soil polluted with cadmium.

Abstract

Heavy metals are one of important environmental pollutants and their toxicity is a great problem for plant growth. Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal toxic ion which accumulate in the soil because of consequence of human activities. Plants own strategies to control the concentration of metal ions inside the cell to minimize the possible harm that could cause by subjected to nonessential metal ions. However, accumulation of cadmium concentration in the plant cells led to frail its resistance. In this study, grains of barley (Hordeum vulgare) were exposed to two Cd concentrations (150 and 300 ppm) against untreated control. Cadmium treatment caused a reduction in plant length, growth, the inhibition of chlorophyll content due to indirect Cd effects on the content of essential nutrients and osmoprotectants, including soluble sugars (SS), soluble proteins (SP), total free amino acids (TAA) and higher accumulation in proline contents. Excessive cadmium accumulation increased malondialdehyde (MDA) level in leaves disrupting cell membrane. Data of the present study indicated that the usage of banana compost as biofertilizers alleviated the drastic effect of cadmium stress in barley plants as it promoted the growth performance, enhanced photosynthetic pigments, SS, SP and TFA and reduced proline. Banana compost balanced the absorption and translocation of mineral homeostasis from roots to shoots. Results indicated also that compost supplementation reduced lipid peroxidation. Our results may help shed light on plant adaptation to cadmium stress using different organic fertilizers, however different plant species still need further research.