Cadmium (Cd) chloride affects the nutrient uptake and Cd-resistant bacterium reduces the adsorption of Cd in muskmelon plants

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of cadmium (Cd) chloride on the uptake of N, P, and K and evaluate the effect of Cd-resistant bacterium "N3"on reducing the adverse effect of Cd in grafted and nongrafted plants. The shoot and total dry weights of the nongrafted muskmelon plants decreased under 50 and 100 μM Cd treatments. The scion and shoot dry weights of the grafted plants increased significantly, whereas their root dry weight increased by nearly onefold compared with those of the CK-grafted plants regardless of Cd concentration. The N, P, and K contents in the nongrafted plants decreased under Cd treatments but increased under 50 μM Cd treatment when inoculated with "N3". The N, P, and K contents in the grafted plants were lower than those treated with only Cd. The grafted and nongrafted plants exhibited low Cd accumulation in the scion or shoot part compared with the root tissues. "N3"inoculation reduced the Cd concentration in all tissues of the grafted and nongrafted plants. Our results demonstrated great variation in Cd accumulation in the grafted and nongrafted muskmelon plants, thereby promoting food safety under Cd contamination conditions.