PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES AND TOLERANCE THRESHOLD TO CADMIUM CONTAMINATION IN EREMOCHLOA OPHIUROIDES

Plant tolerance is one of the preconditions in soil phytoremediation. The physiological responses and tolerance threshold of centipedegrass (Eremochloa ophiuroides) were investigated under eight different Cd concentrations (0, 60, 120, 180, 240, 300, 360, and 420 mg Cd kg(-1)) in a sand culture system. The results showed that turf quality, leaf relative water content (RWC), leaf electrolyte leakage (EL), leaf osmotic potential did not show significant changes under 180 mg Cd kg(-1) compared with the control, and relative growth rate (RGR), turf density, leaf chlorophyll content, photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) did not show significant changes under 240 mg Cd kg(-1) compared with the control throughout the whole experiment. Regression analysis was used to determine the threshold Cd concentrations for each physiological parameter and the most sensitive parameter occurred by RWC of 197 mg Cd kg(-1) which was chose as Cd tolerance threshold in centipedegrass because under this concentration the plant did not show any significant difference with the control in all growth and physiological parameters measured in this experiment. The phytoextration rate of centipedegrass reached 0.87% in 36 d under 180 mg Cd kg(-1) treatment.