Abstract
The heavy metal tolerance in corn
(Zea mays
L
.)
var. ‘Neelum’ was assessed at germination and seedling growth
after having subjected it to different concentrations of CuSO
4
and ZnSO
4
. Germination was not affected by any of the
metal tested, whereas initial growth was strongly inhibited by increasing concentrations of ZnSO
4
. Seedlings developed
toxicity symptoms in the presence of both metals but more chlorotic and necrotic regions were observed at varying
levels of ZnSO
4
than CuSO
4
. The metal accumulation was concentration dependent.
Z. mays
seedlings accumulated
more copper in roots but greater contents of zinc in their shoots. On the basis of results presented here, it can be
concluded that the cultivar of the species tested has shown a marked sensitivity to the presence of small amounts of
metals present in the growth medium. The data support the assumption that metal sensitivity is probably due to strong
tendency of the species to accumulate them. This justifies that the corn variety ‘Neelum’ is not suitable for the cultivation
under situations where water and soil suffer from occasional and/ or transitory metal pollution.