RESHU YADAV AND R.K. SRIVASTAVA
Abstract
The rice seeds (Oryza sativum) were raised in Petri-plates on nutrient agar medium for fifteen days and treated with different concentrations of synthetically prepared solutions of Arsenic (As-III) and Chromium (Cr-VI) at different pH and retention time after treating with various adsorbents. No germination occurred at pH 2.0 as it is highly acidic in nature thus unfavourable for germination. It was observed that as concentration of As (III) and Cr (VI) increased the content of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll - b and total chlorophyll decreased gradually and the proline increased drastically to cope up the stress developed due to these heavy metals in the seedlings. The maximum proline content was found 25.83 μg/gm fresh weight in rice seedlings while treating with 2.0 ppm Arsenic (III) with activated charcoal as adsorbent.