Short Term Responses of Maize Grown under Cadmium Toxicity

Anthropogenic perturbations of biosphere manifested in a broad array of global phenomena, including accelerated rate of industrialization, intensive agriculture, and extensive mining accompanied by burgeoning population and rapid urbanization have not only wreaked the havoc on the availability of natural resources but also caused widespread and grave contamination of the essential components of life on the planet. Of the implications of human-induced disturbance of natural biogeochemical cycles, accentuated accumulation of heavy metals (HMs) is a problem of paramount importance for ecological, nutritional, and environmental reasons. HMs belong to a group of nonbiodegradable, persistent inorganic chemical constituents with the atomic mass over 20 and the density higher than 5¿3 g/cm that have cytotoxic, genotoxic, and mutagenic effects on humans or animals and plants through influencing and tainting food chains, soil, irrigation or potable water, aquifers, and surrounding atmosphere.