24. Cultivar differences in cadmium accumulation in organs of durum wheat

Lab and greenhouse experiments have been conducted to study plant Cd accumulation and plant performance of five durum wheat cultivars grown in Cd-contaminated conditions. The results obtained in hydroponics experiments using ¹⁰⁹Cd radiotracer revealed that the plants from cv. Zagorka had the highest Cd accumulation in both roots and leaves, which corresponded to the higher level of grain Cd accumulation in this cultivar, when grown in pot-soil conditions. On the contrary, the plants from cv. Vazhod had the lowest grain Cd accumulation, which was in accordance with its leaf ¹⁰⁹Cd accumulation. The soil Cd concentration of 10 mg/kg did not induce any physiological disorders in wheat plants as judged by leaf gas exchange parameters, chlorophyll content, plant dry biomass and grain production, but provoked grain Cd accumulation 16-28 foid higher than the accepted limit value.