Role of antioxidants in Cr tolerance of three crop plants: Metal accumulation in seeds

Pot experiments were conducted on three crop plants (Vigna radiata cv. PDM54, V. radiata cv. NM1, Brassica juncea cv. vaibhav) which were grown on six different tannery sludge (TS) amendments. The translocation of Cr to the seeds was found to be higher in B. juncea than the two cultivars of V. radiata, and their levels were below detectable limits in all the three plants grown on lower amendments of tannery sludge (T10 and T25). There was a gradual increase in protein content and antioxidant levels in all the plants grown on lower sludge amendments. However, the levels of all the antioxidants were higher in B. juncea than the two cultivars of V. radiata. The increase in malondialdehyde content of B. juncea was lower than the two cultivars of V. radiata as compared to their respective controls. Overall, the plants of B. juncea have shown better tolerance than both the cultivars of V. radiata.