Abstract
The foliar applied silicon (Si) has the potential to ameliorate heavy metals, especially cadmium (Cd) toxicity; however, Si dose optimization is strategically important for boosting the growth of soil microbes and Cd stress mitigation. Thus, the current research was performed to assess the Si-induced physiochemical and antioxidant trait alterations along with Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhiza (VAM) status in maize roots under Cd stress. The trial included foliar Si application at the rate of 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 ppm while Cd stress (at the rate of 20 ppm) was induced after full germination of maize seed. The response variables included various physiochemical traits such as leaf pigments, protein, and sugar contents along with VAM alterations under induced Cd stress. The results revealed that exogenous application of Si in higher doses remained effective in improving the leaf pigments, proline, soluble sugar, total proteins, and all free amino acids. Additionally, the same treatment remained unmatched in terms of antioxidant activity compared to lower doses of foliar-applied Si. Moreover, VAM was recorded to be at peak under 20 ppm Si treatment. Thus, these encouraging findings may serve as a baseline to develop Si foliar application as a biologically viable mitigation strategy for maize grown in Cd toxicity soils. Overall, the exogenous application of Si helpful for reducing the uptake of Cd in maize and also improving the mycorrhizal association as well as the philological mechanism and antioxidant activities in plant under cadmium stress conditions. Also, future studies must test more doses concerning to varying Cd stress levels along with determining the most responsive crop stage for Si foliar application.
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Acknowledgements
This research work was funded by Institutional Fund Projects under grant No. (IFPIP: 439-130-1443). The authors gratefully acknowledge technical and financial support provided by the Ministry of Education and King Abdulaziz University, DSR, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. We are thankful to University of Central Punjab Constituent College Yazman Road Bahawalpur for sharing lab facilities and providing space for research experiments.
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This work was funded by Institutional Fund Projects under grant No. (IFPIP: 439-130-1443), Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia.
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ZA and ARN planned and supervised the research, UUZ conducted the research work and wrote the introduction part, and AA and SA wrote the manuscript; UUZ, ZA, and SH did the static analysis and graphical representation; EAW and HFA read the manuscript as proofreading and arranged it according to the journal style; ZA provided reagents, assisted in the analytical work and MAI improved the English language quality of the manuscript.
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Zia, U.U., Niazi, A.R., Ahmad, Z. et al. Dose optimization of silicon for boosting arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization and cadmium stress mitigation in maize (Zea mays L.). Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 67071–67086 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26902-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26902-9